Scent of a Woman
by latetolove
Summary: Ranger hires Stephanie to work on a long term distraction that requires her to change her identity.  What follows leads to an interesting development in their three year non-relationship.
1. Chapter 1

_**Scent of a Woman**_

_**By Latetolove**_

Most characters in this story are the property of Janet Evanovich. I owe my obsession to her. I borrow them for fun, but eventually they return to star in her next masterpiece.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

**Chapter 1**

September had been unusually brutal. Not only was the weather hot and humid, but also Stephanie Plum's on-again off-again relationship with Joe Morelli had hit the skids big time. She was looking forward to October with its cooler nights, sunny, colorful days and all the possibility of change it could bring. It was an early start to her morning. Typically she never made it into the bail bonds office before 9:30 or 10:00, especially on a Monday, but the weekend had been rough and sleep had evaded her for most of Sunday night. Finally near dawn she gave up, showered, and dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. She quietly lifted Mr. Wolesky's newspaper from his door step down the hall and read it while downing a nice cup of coffee containing an abundance of cream and sugar. Steph then fed Rex, locked up her apartment, and returned Mr. Wolesky's paper, none the worse for wear. On her way in to the office, she stopped at the Tasty Pastry, picked up a dozen donuts and arrived by 8:45.

Connie, the Vincent Plum Bail Bonds office manager, was just adding the final coat of blood red polish to her perfect nails, and she glanced up when Stephanie walked in.

"Hey, Steph."

Stephanie gave Connie a weak 'good morning' head nod and deposited the box of donuts on the counter with a sigh. "I know it's early, Connie, but you don't happen to have any skips for me do you?"

Connie gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry, Steph, nada, but thanks for the donuts. After the weekend I had I'm going to need at least four of those." She shook her nails to make them dry more quickly.

Lula struggled to get up from where she was sitting on the floor. She'd been filing in the bottom drawer, and Stephanie had to suppress a giggle as she watched Lula, in her tight fluorescent orange spandex dress and four-inch heeled boots, try to maneuver to a standing position without tumbling over, or mooning the room.

"Girl, let me tell you, there must have been some evil anti-sex curse goin' around cause I'm going to need at least six of those _plus_ a bucket of fried chicken to erase the memory of my miserable weekend." Lula joined Stephanie and Connie at the desk and grabbed a donut. "I was all by my lonesome 'cause Tanky Bear was working all kinds of overtime trying to re-work some contract for a hot shot RangeMan client."

"I hear ya!" Connie agreed. "I was supposed to have a date with Robbie Marcuso Friday night, but the jerk stood me up! Then on Saturday, my cousin Theresa and I saw him at the movieplex with Lucy Donacelli, and they weren't paying too much attention to the plot, if you know what I mean. She must have eaten all the Twizzlers, because he had his tongue down her throat trying to get a taste."

Stephanie made a sour face. "Thanks for that image, Connie."

Connie sighed heavily and gingerly picked up a donut so it wouldn't mess up her nails. "Where are all the good guys?"

"So, girlfriend, how many of those donuts do you need? You sho' don't have that satisfied afterglow 'bout you neither."

"Lula, I don't think even a whole box of Boston Crèmes could do it for me this time."

"Steph, what happened?" Connie's voice was full of friendly concern.

"I know!" Lula interjected, "you and SuperCop are still off. Ain't you?"

Stephanie slumped her shoulders with another heavy sigh. "We're off and over for good." She sounded resigned to the reality of her statement.

"White Girl, you and Officer Hottie have come and gone more times than a ho's best customer. You know it's never over with him."

"Lula, Joe and I had a long, serious talk Friday night. You know we broke it off _again_ two weeks ago. Well, we finally both agreed that it isn't going to work for us. We have different ideas for the future, and we just keep bumping heads; then we try to fix it, and a month later… we're doing it all over again. I just can't do it anymore, and Joe can't either." She looked over the donuts, but didn't choose one. "You know, I've never really been convinced that he doesn't still have some kind of feelings or interest in Terri Gilman." _And if I'm being honest with myself, I definitely have a lot of feelings for and interest in Ranger as well._ Steph thought. "I drove over to Joe's house yesterday and packed up everything of mine that was there. We're _really_ over for good!"

"Wow this is serious, Steph. Are you okay with it?" Connie took another donut.

"I'm sad, lonely, and I ate two boxes of Tasty Cakes and four candy bars on Saturday. I'm really tired from not sleeping enough and thinking _too _much. But I'll be okay. I'm actually looking forward to making some changes in my life after this. I need to redefine myself post-Joe. We've been part of each other's lives for a long time, and I have definitely learned what I don't want in a relationship. Now I just have to define what I do want in one."

"Well when you have the answer to that little mystery of life; let us know, will you? In the meantime have a donut!"

"Sure, Connie, you and Lula will be the first to know after I figure it out!"

"Well if it's really over, you can just move your ass on and get you some of that Batman action. He is the finest man on the planet, next to Tanky of course! And b'sides, everybody knows that you and Batman are just magic waitin' to happen."

"Ranger doesn't _do_ relationships!" Stephanie blurted in exasperation.

"You don't need no _relationship_ to get some of that girl! Just tap it."

'You know me better than that, Lula. I need more from a guy than just his…his package! Oh God," she slapped her forehead. "I sound like my Grandma Mazur."

"Girl, you and Ranger have been dancin' round this thing for almost two years. You need to just do it and be done with it."

"Maybe you're right, Lula, maybe I should just open myself up to the possibility of…" Stephanie had no sooner reached into the box and grabbed a particularly scrumptious looking Boston Crème, when she felt a familiar warm tingle at the back her neck that could only mean one thing. The glazed looks on Lula and Connie's faces confirmed it.

"Good morning, ladies." Ranger's smooth deep greeting resonated behind Stephanie, and she froze as he sidled up to the counter next to her. "Connie, do you have any FTA files for me today?"

"Ah… yeah…right here." Connie had to brush the sugar off her fingers before picking up the stack of files set aside for RangeMan.

"Thanks." Ranger turned to Stephanie. "Babe, can I see you outside for a minute?"

"Yeah." Stephanie quickly picked up a napkin to wipe her hands and then followed Ranger outside. Ranger threw the files onto the seat of his Porsche, grabbed Stephanie's hand, and pulled her into the alleyway between the bonds office and the bookstore, where they always seem to hold their 'private conferences'. Ranger stealthily maneuvered Stephanie between him and the wall and made full body contact.

"Babe, I need you." Ranger ground out in a low and suggestive voice.

"Really, Batman? How badly?" Stephanie knew she was playing with fire, but damn she hadn't eaten her donut, and there was no sugar in her system to suppress the building urges of her, more than two week, dry spell.

"If you only knew." Playful Ranger was suddenly gone, and Intense Ranger was now front and center. His chocolate brown eyes held hers, and for a brief moment Stephanie caught a glimpse of sadness in them, and then it was gone. She decided to push her luck a little further.

"Explain it to me." There was a long pause as they continued silent communication with their eyes. Finally Ranger spoke.

"Not here." Now his eyes were pleading her to back off. So she did.

"Okay." She weakly replied. He noticeably relaxed when she gave in. Wait! Did she just win a round of 'Flirt Shamelessly' with Ranger? Stephanie had never won one before. She typically blushed or freaked out and pulled back first. Inside her mind she was doing the happy dance.

"I have a job for you, Babe."

"What, when, where and how slutty do you want me dressed?"

"That's a loaded question, Babe. Who says I want you dressed at all?" Playful Ranger had returned.

"You're a funny man, Ranger. You had better be careful, or your tough guy image could take a beating if it gets out that you can make jokes."

"Who said I was joking?" He leaned in and brushed his lips lightly against hers. Stephanie was getting a little weak in the knees, and she was finding it hard to think straight, as Ranger was running hot and cold and hot again. _Damn why does he do this to me!_

"Um…what kind of help do you need, Ranger?"

Ranger stepped back and glanced toward the alley entrance. "I have a client that could use a little persuasion in choosing the right kind of security. His name is Daniel Patrick. He brokers high-end real estate, and he's quite successful at it. There have been several break-ins at his offices over the last month. He called us initially to install an upgrade to his current security system, which we did. At first it was typical breaking and entering with some office equipment going missing, but lately the crime has been escalating to a more personal, violent nature against Mr. Patrick himself. Graffiti on his car, threats in the mail, and disturbing phone calls. Things our current system can't prevent. I've been trying to convince him to step up his security to include bodyguard protection and possibly putting a man on the inside to investigate further. He's balking at what he perceives would be an intrusion to his life. I was hoping you would come to our next meeting with him and use some of your skills to influence his decision."

"Does he have a stalker?"

"We don't know. We don't have the authority to investigate yet. That's why I want him to change his contract to include those aspects of our services."

"And you think I can persuade a successful, educated business man to change his mind? Come on, Ranger, this isn't me luring some drunken FTA out of a bar with a smutty outfit and the promise of hot, dirty sex. What mad skills do you think I possess that make me right for this job?"

"You're good with people, Babe. They listen to you because you read them so well. You look past appearances and see them on the inside. You see their needs and what motivates them. I see it when you interact with my men. Hell, in the three years since I hired Cal, I've never seen anyone, man or woman, voluntarily approach him in a friendly way. It's why I hired him…he's damn scary. But you never saw that. You actually hugged the man out of concern for his possible injury after a rough take down. It didn't even occur to you to be scared of him. Babe, you have a 240-pound guy, with a flaming skull tattooed on his head, wrapped around your little finger. You have no idea how powerful you are, do you?"

_Wow,_ Stephanie thought. There was no one in her life that professed that kind of confidence in her abilities. Joe never saw her that way. He valued her body, her skills in the bedroom, and her quick wit. He even acknowledged that she was strong-willed and independent, but he always considered that an inconvenience to their relationship; not an asset.

"Ranger, I don't know what to say, I'm…I'm…stunned. I appreciate your confidence in me, but I'm just a girl from the burg. What could I say to make your client change his mind?"

"Babe, I have faith in you. Would you come to the meeting and just listen. Even if you don't say anything while you're there, maybe you can give us some insight afterwards that will be helpful."

Okay, I'll go with you, when is the meeting?"

"It's scheduled for eleven."

"Today!" Ranger nodded. Stephanie sighed. "All right, but I can't go dressed like this. Do I have time to go by my apartment and change?"

"Sure, Babe. Go home and change. I'll come by and pick you up at 10:30. Will that work?"

"Yeah, that's plenty of time."

"Thanks, Babe" He leaned in once again and deposited another warm but chaste kiss on her lips, and then he was gone.

...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX...

Ranger and Stephanie arrived at the offices of Daniel Patrick precisely at 11:00 am. Tank had already arrived and was waiting for them. Back at her apartment, Stephanie had changed into an old, but still fashionable, business suit that she used to wear as a lingerie buyer for E.E Martin. It was cream colored with a pale pink blouse underneath and she paired it with ivory, three-inch heels. It had been a long time since she felt so professional. In the car, on the way to the meeting, she mused that it was a good choice because Corporate Ranger had come to pick her up. He wore a black Armani suit with a fitted silk shirt and silk tie; both black. He looked absolutely delicious. If she had to rank the sexiness of all the different Rangers, Corporate Ranger would land third on the list behind Naked Ranger and shirtless, sweaty Workout Ranger. It had been a while since she'd seen Naked Ranger…. _hmmmm_. Her thoughts left her feeling a bit… frisky. _Damn I never finished that donut._

When they entered the meeting, Ranger introduced Stephanie as his colleague, and Mr. Patrick warmly welcomed her. She was offered a seat in one of the two chairs sitting in front of the desk and, once the meeting began, she listened attentively as Ranger proceeded to reiterate his reasons for believing that Mr. Patrick required the additional security he was proposing in the new contract.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Manoso, I just can't get comfortable with the idea of having bodyguards or planting one of your men amongst my staff. I have a business to run here, and I don't want anything to hinder that. I've worked hard to provide my family with the best in life, and I can't afford to scare away clients who might feel threatened by me bringing along an entourage of protection to every meeting."

"I assure you, Mr. Patrick, that my men can be very discrete. Your daily routine will be impacted very little. It will be their job to blend in and still keep you protected."

"I still don't know." Daniel shook his head. "Do you really think the trouble will keep escalating to the point of requiring this kind of action?" He lifted the proposed contract up in illustration.

Stephanie had heard enough. She knew enough about stalkers and other dangerous scum to know that they were unpredictable at best, deadly at worst. Being Queen of Denial Land herself, Stephanie recognized a fellow countryman. She hadn't intended to say anything but she just couldn't hold back. She just hoped it would work.

"Mr. Patrick, you're already _in_ that kind of trouble and RangeMan can help." Stephanie stood up from her chair and leaned over the massive desk. From his desktop, she picked up a framed photo of whom she presumed to be his wife and two young daughters; then laid it right in front of him. "Daniel, you have three of the most beautiful reasons in the world to make it home safely every night. As of now, the personal attacks directed at you have all been here at your office. Believe me, the next time it could very well be at your home. Don't let this go any further. Sign the contract." She put her hand on his and gave him a warm, but sincere, look as his eyes filled with emotion gazing at the photo.

He signed.

Ranger picked up his copy of the signed contract and shook the man's hand. "Mr. Patrick, Tank will make all the arrangements for your protection to begin immediately. He will stay and discuss the details with you on how we plan to keep you safe with the least amount of disruption to your life as is possible. If you have any questions, he can answer them. Have a good afternoon."

"Thank you, Mr. Manoso, and you also, Ms. Plum. You have been very patient with me, and I appreciate it." He followed them to the door. "Goodbye."

Stephanie shook his hand, and they left the room, walked down the hall and entered the elevator.

"Babe, you did good. I'm proud of you. Thank you." He leaned toward her as he reached to push the elevator button for the lobby. The doors closed. Their faces were inches from each other; eyes locked. Stephanie held her breath and waited. She so desperately wanted him to take her in his arms throw her up against the wall and have his way with her right there. She could she the struggle he was fighting for control.

"He just needed to be reminded of what is really important in his life." Steph whispered.

The doors opened to the lobby, their private world disappeared, and they exited the elevator. The ride back to her apartment was tensely quiet.

Ranger pulled into the parking lot; they exited the car, entered the apartment building and walked upstairs. He took her key, opened the door and did a quick scan of the rooms to make sure Rex hadn't lured in an unsavory villain wishing to do Stephanie any harm.

"All clear." Ranger announced.

"Thanks. My hero." She dramatically exclaimed. Stephanie headed for the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water out of the refrigerator. She handed one to Ranger.

"Today, Babe, you were my hero."

"Well, I am glad for once that I could return the favor. You've never failed to help me more times that I can count. It's nice to feel useful for a change." Stephanie slipped into the bedroom to change her clothes, leaving the door ajar to continue with the conversation.

"Babe, you _have_ saved me... more than once." She slipped out of the suit and heels and put on a much more comfortable sundress with a lightweight sweater and sandals.

"I don't think it counts when I'm the reason you were in trouble in the first place."

"Just the nature of the job, Babe. You just happen to attract danger a bit more frequently than the average bounty hunter."

Stephanie came out of the bedroom and headed to the living room where Ranger was leaning up against the doorframe leading to the hallway. "A bit? You think that might be a little understated?"

Ranger grabbed her arm as she passed him and turned her to look directly into her eyes. "Stephanie, you saved my daughter. I can never repay that enough."

"There's no price for that, Ranger. Julie's a great girl." She broke the eye contact and continued on into the living room. "How is she, by the way? Have you seen her lately?"

"She's good. She's doing well at school. She has a real knack for math and science. I saw her back in July when I flew down to Miami for a long weekend. I may get to see her next month at Thanksgiving. Maybe she can come here."

"Oh that would be wonderful! I would love to see her again. Would that be alright with you?" Stephanie hoped she didn't sound too presumptuous.

"I'm sure Julie would love that, Babe. She asks about you all the time."

"She does?"

"Yeah, she thinks you're… I think the word she used was 'awesome'." He smiled.

"Well, I like her too. We've emailed each other a few times. She's a very special girl, Ranger. She reminds me a lot of you. But if I was really 'awesome' you wouldn't have ended up getting shot by Scrog." Stephanie sighed and sat down on the couch. "Should I give it up, Ranger? Bounty hunting, I mean."

"Babe…" Ranger started to speak, but Stephanie cut him off to continue.

"I know I severely lack the traditional skills required to do this job. Joe tells me that all the time. I know he loves me, and he just wants me to be safe, but maybe he's right. Maybe I'm dangerous to work with. You were almost killed! Hell, the first time I worked with Tank, he broke his leg. And Cal, the same day, got a concussion. I seem to leave a trail of injury and destruction in my wake. Have you ever counted the number of cars I've ruined?"

"I believe there's an up to date tally that exists somewhere at RangeMan and at the Trenton PD." He chuckled. Ranger sat down next to her on the couch and got serious. "Stephanie, Scrog was insane. There was nothing you could have done differently. You were there for Julie. You were there for me." Ranger was almost imploring her to believe him. "And you _are_ good at what you do. You may do it a little unconventionally at times, but you never give up. Your tenacity and your ability to improvise, because of your lack of traditional skills, are what make you stand out. It's what makes you…'Bombshell', as my men affectionately refer to you."

"I've never been convinced that that particular term of endearment should be taken as flattery."

"It came about from nothing but respect for you, Babe. It means you're one of the guys. You should be honored. They've never given Jeanne Ellen a nickname."

"Ha! Respect… maybe. Your men have always been very good to me, Ranger; I'll give you that. But boys will be boys, and you'll never convince me that there isn't a good-sized dose of entertainment value thrown into that nickname as well. Besides, the only nickname I could envision for Jeanne Ellen would be…unspeakable in mixed company."

"Okay, I'll admit that you do play a major part in keeping RangeMan morale at an all time high, but my men admire you and would do anything for you. You're very special to them."

"Hmmm. There's not much I wouldn't do for them either. I've become very attached to my boys at RangeMan."

Stephanie's stomach took advantage of the pause in the conversation to make its needs known.

"Hungry, Babe?"

"Starving!"

"Let me take you to lunch, I owe you for today. And maybe we can talk about another job I have in mind for you while we're out." He stood, took her hand and lifted her from the couch.

"A distraction?"

"Not exactly."

"Well, Mr. Manoso, you have me intrigued. Let's go."

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	2. Chapter 2

Janet owns them all. I just play. No cash for me, just good readers and hopefully... good reviews.

Author Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews for the first chapter. It has eased the mind of this first time writer.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx…

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 2**

Ranger took Stephanie to a wonderful little restaurant downtown called the Blue Mountain Café. Ranger had the grilled mahi-mahi with wild rice and asparagus. Stephanie had the Chicken Cordon Bleu with garlic potatoes and green beans. But the best part was the extensive dessert menu.

"Okay, Ranger, if you were trying to seduce me into signing on to this new job with you, by tempting me with this sinfully rich Chocolate Silk Paradise Pie…. it worked. I'm all yours. This officially gives my mom's Pineapple Upside Down Cake a run for its money. I could deny you nothing if you dangled this in front of me."

"Babe, you're giving information to the enemy."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't consider anyone an enemy if they were offering me a piece of this. If it were a woman, she would be my new best friend for life. If it were a man…" Stephanie almost purred that last line out and just left that little piece of information hanging out there to be interpreted any way he chose to. Ranger smirked and then just as quickly slammed his blank face back on. She was pretty sure she had just won round two. This was shaping up to be a good day.

"Babe, if you take this job, I will need to put you back on the RangeMan payroll as a full-time employee with benefits and salary. This is not just a one-night deal. It will require extensive preparation and possibly a week or so away on assignment."

"Would I be leaving the country?"

"Probably not, but that could change as the job develops. Right now my guess is that the majority of your time will be spent near Trenton, Philadelphia, or possibly New York."

"What about my work at the bonds office. I can't leave Vinnie short-handed for more than a couple of days."

"I would make arrangements for RangeMan to cover all your FTA's. Vinnie won't have a problem with that."

"This sounds like a big deal, Ranger. Why me? Why not Jeanne Ellen? She has a lot more training and much better skills than I do."

"This particular job requires skills that you have and she doesn't. Jeanne Ellen couldn't pull this off on her best day."

Stephanie looked very confused. "I'm sorry, Ranger, I must be experiencing a sugar rush or something and I didn't hear you correctly. Jeanne Ellen can kick my butt from here to next Sunday. I couldn't touch Jeanne Ellen if she was blindfolded, had both hands tied behind her back, and was wearing a cast on her left leg."

Ranger smiled. "That's very true, Babe, and if I needed butt kicking, I would call on Jeanne Ellen. But I need something different for this job. I need you to work your magic just like you did this morning with Daniel Patrick. I need your people skills. I'm going to warn you, Babe, this job will be a lot tougher, but I have no doubt that you are the right person."

"Why don't you give me the details, and I'll let you know if I agree with you."

"Why don't we go back to Haywood, and I can brief you on this in a more secure location."

Stephanie gave a Ranger a sly grin. "Is that one of your better pick up lines, Batman?"

"Would it work on you, Babe?"

Stephanie leaned forward slightly and whispered suggestively. "Only if you could convince me that it was of the upmost importance to national security, and you promised the debriefing would be very gentle."

Ranger's eyes darkened and his reply was voiced in a low seductive tone. He reached for her face and gently tucked a curl behind her ear. "Believe me, Babe, if I'm the one debriefing you, gentle would not be the best way to describe my tactics."

Stephanie blushed. Ranger just won this round.

...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX...

They returned to Haywood and Ranger called in the members of his core team to meet with Stephanie in the conference room on the 5th floor. Ranger stood at the head of the table, with Stephanie seated to his left, Tank on his right. Bobby and Lester were seated across the table. Each of them had a file. Ranger handed a similar one to Stephanie as the meeting started.

Ranger cleared his throat and began. "Victor Giordano is the owner of a large import company based out of New York City. On the surface, his business looks, and for the most part is, legit. But Mr. Giordano has close ties to a prominent east coast crime family. It's likely that this relationship includes illegal business transactions as well, but nothing has ever been proven. Last month Victor made a big mistake and was pulled over by the Jersey State Police for speeding. He was clocked going 102 mph on I95 in his Lamborghini. He failed a sobriety test, and a search of the car found an unlicensed handgun and a decent quantity of narcotics."

"Did Vinnie post bond?" Stephanie asked.

"No, Les Sebring did. Sebring hired RangeMan to monitor Giordano's every move from the moment bond was posted. He was protecting his rather sizeable investment. His court date was this morning. Obviously he didn't show. He's now, officially, our FTA"

"What was his bond set at?"

"Two million dollars."

"Why so high?" Stephanie questioned. "I mean, isn't that a bit steep for the charges, Ranger?"

"The prosecution made a good case against him as being a flight risk; and they had a very cooperative judge that day, who agreed. They couldn't really hold him in jail with those charges, but they got the high bond as compensation."

"So what's the plan?"

"Giordano is a very difficult man to get alone. He has at least one bodyguard with him at all times. His house is like a fortress, and he has even more protection when he is out doing business. Les and Hector have been doing some surveillance, and Ram and Bobby have done the research you have in your files. Les, why don't you summarize the important findings from the surveillance and research for us?"

"Sure thing, Boss! As Ranger said, Giordano is very well protected. Since his arrest, he is very rarely seen in public and spends most of his time hidden away at his estate or office. The most useful piece of information we have acquired is that once each month he meets with his private investment analyst, Andrew Sullivan. These monthly meetings are always held down the road from here in Philadelphia, where Sullivan lives.

Our research on Sullivan indicates that he is a legitimate, law abiding businessman. He's never had so much as a traffic ticket. Giordano trusts him implicitly. They went to school together and have known each other for years. When they get together, they have dinner and meet for several hours afterward. Giordano stays in Philadelphia overnight, always at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and returns to New York the next day. We believe our best opportunity to apprehend Giordano is during his next stay in Philadelphia. His personal security is relatively minimal during his visits."

"So you scope out his routine, and I act as a distraction and lure Giordano out of some bar or restaurant while he's in town?" This was standard operating procedure for Stephanie.

"That's the problem." Ranger answered. "We don't know when the next meeting will be. The logistics of their meetings have been impossible for us to predict. We need someone on the inside to get the time and location of their next meeting enough in advance to give us time to set up a take down."

"And that someone will be me?" Stephanie guessed, and Ranger nodded. "You want me to _'get friendly'_ with Giordano?"

"No, Giordano is too dangerous. I want you to get _friendly_ with Sullivan." Ranger replied flatly. "Sullivan appears to be the one making all the arrangements for Giordano when he's in town. If you can develop a _relationship_ with Sullivan and spend some time with him, we're hoping that you can discover the details of the next meeting."

"A _relationship_?" Stephanie turned in her seat to face Ranger directly. "Is this guy married? What are we talking about here? Becoming a mistress or girlfriend?"

"Sullivan's wife and daughter were killed in a car accident four months ago. He's a grieving father and widower. Your most likely success in getting close to him would be to become a comforting, consoling…_acquaintance_." Ranger put some stress on the word 'acquaintance' leaving Stephanie to believe that the term was loosely defined. "Babe, we'll worry about Giordano. We want you to focus on Sullivan and getting us the information. Why don't you take the file on Sullivan and look it over. Santos did most of the surveillance on this guy along with Hector, and they might be able to give you more detail on anything that jumps out at you. You decide from the information how you want to approach this. It's your choice. We want you to be comfortable with the job."

"What kind of time crunch are we looking at for this?"

"We have to have Giordano back in jail in two weeks. We're pretty sure the next meeting will be held sometime before that if they are sticking to a once a month schedule."

"Two weeks!" Stephanie looked shocked. "Yeesh, you guys must be looking for a miracle. Two weeks?"

"Don't worry, Babe, you won't disappoint." Ranger gave her one of his almost smiles. "That's all for now. Everyone is dismissed. We'll meet back here tomorrow morning at 0700…" Ranger looked at Stephanie who was shooting daggers at him for what he presumed to be the early time. "Okay… let's make that 0800 hours." Stephanie sighed in resignation and nodded her head.

Tank, Lester and Bobby left the room shaking their heads in silent laughter. Ranger took Stephanie's hand, lifted her out of her seat and held her chin in his hand so their eyes met.

"Babe, if you don't want to do this, I'll understand. This is very different from anything you have done for us before. Just tell me."

Stephanie stared into Rangers eyes for several moments. She would do anything for him. He had so much confidence in her and she didn't want to disappoint him. "Give me some time with the file, Batman. If I can find a way to make this work for you, I'll do it. But if I do, and we take this guy down, you are going to owe me an entire Chocolate Silk Paradise Pie! Deal?"

Ranger growled and leaned in for a brief kiss to seal the deal.

...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie spent the remainder of the afternoon going over the file on Sullivan. On a couple of occasions she called Lester or Hector in to ask more details about certain things they had observed during their surveillance. She also did some additional searches using the extensive RangeMan computer programs. Bobby and Ram had been pretty thorough, but Stephanie needed information that a man wouldn't necessarily think was useful or important. During the course of the day she had managed to spread out papers and files all over the conference table. Finally, she made a few phone calls. She was just finishing up her investigation and was starting to tidy her mess when Ranger walked into the conference room.

"Babe, you've been at this for hours. Time to call it a night."

"I agree, if I look at one more report or make one more note tonight, I am going to go crazy. I have so much information running through my head that I need to process. Ranger, do you think I could leave all this here for tomorrow? Does anyone need this room before then?"

"Leave it, Babe. Come up to seven with me. I've asked Ella to send up dinner. Can you stay?"

"That sounds wonderful, I'm starving, and I love Ella's cooking. It's been a while since I've had it."

They closed the conference room door, walked down the hall and took the elevator up to Ranger's apartment on the top floor. It was exactly the way Stephanie remembered from the last time she was there. Just walking in was calming and relaxing. It struck her that she only had good memories of this place. Unlike at her own apartment, no harm ever came to her here. She never had to worry that someone may be lurking about in a closet, or that the room may suddenly erupt into flames (that is, as long as she never attempted to cook in Ranger's kitchen). She felt safe, and she liked it.

"It smells absolutely heavenly in here. Whatever Ella cooked must be delicious."

"Babe, why don't you go freshen up, and I'll set dinner out for us."

"Okay."

Stephanie and Ranger enjoyed Ella's meal of braised steak medallions, steamed vegetables, rice pilaf, warm homemade bread and a wonderful red wine that made Stephanie's toes (and other parts of her body) tingle. Ella even had supplied a frozen raspberry sorbet trifle for dessert.

"A girl could get spoiled eating meals with you. I only eat this well when I make it to my parent's house for dinner." She stood up and started collecting their dishes from the table. Ranger joined her, and they worked in tandem to clean and tidy the dining room and kitchen while they continued their conversation.

"I'm glad you stayed, Babe. Tell me what you discovered today."

"Well…I've gone over everything, and I have an idea that just might work, but I am waiting for a phone call to confirm a major detail. When I have that information, I will present it to you and the rest of the guys at 0800 tomorrow morning…and not a minute before." Stephanie kept her tone teasing and mysterious.

Ranger took her hand and led her to the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled her down into his lap. "Babe, is this going to cause trouble with Morelli?"

"Do you mean the job, or the fact that I'm sitting on your lap while in your apartment and being a little tipsy from the wine?" Stephanie couldn't believe that just came out of her mouth.

"Both." His eyes were dark again.

_My God_, she thought _'Flirt Shamelessly' is going to get me into trouble tonight._ "Joe doesn't rule my business decisions. He never has. And as for my personal ones, he no longer has a say. I will always love Joe, and I think he will always love me, but there are too many conditions and restrictions on his kind of love. It's no secret that he doesn't support my work as a bounty hunter, but what's worse is that he doesn't respect it, and that means he doesn't respect me. It's the reason why we aren't together anymore. I didn't truly understand that until you and I spoke earlier today; and suddenly it was all so crystal clear."

Stephanie had to turn away from Ranger to finish what she was about to say. She stood up from his lap and walked towards the large living room window to stare out at the evening sky.

"The way I feel when you express so much faith in me makes me believe I can move mountains; like I could fly, if I wanted to. No one has ever had that kind of confidence in me before, certainly not Joe...or even my own mother. No one has ever treated me with respect the way you and your men do. I can't even begin to explain what it means to me. Hell, I don't think I knew those feelings could ever exist before I met you. I was always disappointing people; not living up to their standards and expectations. You've shown me how important it is to do things that are good for _me_. Things that make _me_ happy."

Ranger rose from the couch, walked over to Stephanie, and put his arms around her from behind. He nuzzled close to her ear. "I see you move mountains and fly everyday, Babe, and it never ceases to amaze me. You are capable of so much more than you realize, and I want you to be happy."

Stephanie took a deep breath and turned to look up directly into his eyes. "You make me happy, Carlos. I…I don't want to keep you at arms length anymore." There it is. She put it out on the table. Stephanie could barely breathe. Ranger's embrace stiffened. Her heart broke.

"Babe." Ranger sighed. Ranger never sighed. "I would love nothing better than to be the one who makes you happy everyday. I live a life that makes that impossible for now. I can't ask you to give me your heart when I can't guarantee that I can protect it the way it deserves to be. I am here today, and maybe tomorrow, but I don't have control over the day after that, or next month, or even next year. Right now my life is not my own. It still belongs to a damn government contract."

"Ranger…I don't care about…" Stephanie was already building tears.

"I won't do that to you. I care about you too much to let that happen. You need someone you can depend on to be with you everyday. Someone without the potential to cause you so much pain."

"And just who would that be, Ranger!" She was angry and stiff. "You think I should go back to Joe! Again! Because I can't…I won't…I've told you that will never happen." Stephanie pulled away from Ranger feeling exposed and hurt. She yanked a tissue from the box on the coffee table and dried her eyes. She felt the need to back peddle from her confession but just didn't have the energy.

He followed her and pulled her close again. "Dios, Babe, esto lastima tanto. No grite por favor." (God, Babe, this hurts so much. Don't cry please.)

"Carlos, I am not asking for forever right now. I know you can't give me that. What I am asking for…no…what I _need_ is…tonight. Just tonight." She was shamelessly begging.

Ranger held her tighter and gave a slight chuckle. "Babe, you're asking me for a one night stand? You don't _do_ one-night stands."

"And you don't _do_ relationships. So where does that leave us?" She sighed wearily.

The question was never answered because at that moment Stephanie's cell phone rang.

"I need to answer that, it's probably the call I was expecting." She pulled away from Ranger and dug her phone from her purse. "Hello, Sally?" Stephanie walked off toward the bedroom to take the call. When she finished, she returned to the living room and Ranger was gone. There was a note by her purse.

_**Babe, needed to deal with a problem down on five.**_

_**I'll be late, get some sleep.**_

_**R.**_

_Get some sleep? Huh_! Stephanie thought. She wondered if he really expected her to sleep here. Her dignity was lost, she was embarrassed, and she wasn't really sure she had the ability right now to maintain her composure long enough to continue the interrupted conversation if he came back. It would be best to leave…now. In a fit of panic she grabbed her purse and took off down the elevator to the garage. She knew that the someone in the control room would see her leave and tell Ranger, but that just meant she didn't have to see him again tonight. She got to the garage and dug for her car keys. She pulled them out only to realize that her car wasn't here. It was back at her apartment. Ranger had driven her here after lunch.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Stephanie couldn't believe she was so stupid. She was so angry with herself and her predicament that she didn't hear the stairwell door open behind her.

"What's the matter, Beautiful?" Stephanie jumped in surprise.

"Lester, oh my God! You scared the daylights out of me!" Stephanie slapped his arm, then hugged him and started crying in relief.

"It's okay, Bombshell, it's just me. You look so upset. What's going on?" Lester hugged her back.

"I'm sorry, Lester, I'm just a mess right now. I really need to go home, and I forgot I didn't have my car here, and I don't know how I'm going to get home, and I can't ask Ranger, and I don't want to bother anyone and…"

Lester pulled Stephanie away from his chest and looked her straight in the eyes to interrupt her sobbing rant.

"Sh, sh, sh, Beautiful, settle down. I'll take you home."

Lester was very aware that the security cameras were picking up everything, and he didn't want Stephanie to be embarrassed, so without further conversation, he walked her to where his car was parked, opened the passenger side door, and slid her into the seat. He reached over her and secured her seatbelt before closing the door and entering on the driver's side. He started the car and left the garage.

Once Stephanie was able to calm down, the silence in the car was unbearable. She could sense Lester frequently sneaking nervous glances at her. She figured he wanted some answers but was afraid to ask, so she broke the silence with an attempt at casual conversation.

"Lester, what were you doing at RangeMan so late? Your shift ended four hours ago, and you live off site, right?"

"Oh, when our shift ended, Bobby and I went out to grab a bite to eat and then came back to Bobby's apartment on four to play some video games. I was just heading back to my place when I saw you in the garage." He paused. "Steph, I know it's probably none of my business, but what's going on? Did Ranger upset you?"

Stephanie didn't really know how to answer that question. Had Ranger upset her? Did she have the right to be upset when he was only being truthful, and trying to protect her?

"I am upset, but it's not Ranger's fault, Les. I'm upset because…. because …Oh my God, it's so complicated." Stephanie realized, at that point, that she was totally unaware of what the Merry Men might perceive her relationship with Ranger to be. "Lester, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Beautiful, ask away."

"What kind of a relationship do you think Ranger and I have?"

"I don't know, Steph. Isn't that kind of personal?"

"I don't mean it like that. I mean when you look at Ranger and I together what do you see? Do you see two co-workers, or two friends, or something else?"

"Well, you_ are_ co-workers, and you _are_ friends, but I have to say that I have seen something more there for a long time now. I've known Ranger for almost ten years, and I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you, Sweetheart. You stole that man's heart the first day he met you."

"Hunh. Is that what the other guys think, too?"

"Steph, we don't really talk about Ranger's business all that much, but I'm pretty sure that the rest of the guys have the same idea. You gotta understand, Honey, that, even though Ranger may not give much away, your face tells us everything you feel, and it's damn obvious that Ranger is much more to you than a friend."

"He is, Les. I just don't think it's enough." She groaned in frustration. "Arghh… It's so frustrating to have these feelings and to know he has them too, but he just won't give into them. He's holding back, and I don't know how to change that. I was such a fool tonight. I practically threw myself at him, and he turned me away." She buried her head in her hands. "God, I'm such a slut."

By this time Lester had reached Stephanie's apartment, pulled into a parking spot, and turned off the car.

"Beautiful, you are not a slut! Listen, I don't know the personal details of your relationship with Ranger, but I do know what it did to him every time you went back to Morelli after a breakup. He was miserable. Hell, he made us miserable."

"Joe and I are over, for good, Les. There is no going back anymore."

"I'm really glad about that, Sweetie, but maybe you just need to give Ranger some time to figure things out. I'm sure he loves you. Do you think you can wait for him?"

Stephanie thought about it for a minute. Lester was right. She hadn't given Ranger any reason to really trust that she and Joe were done for good. Her history had proven that she was fickle when it came to that relationship. Ranger had spent the last couple of years showing her that he could be trusted. It was her turn to earn his trust. "Yes, Lester, I can. I really can do that. I will have to have a little patience, but I won't give up. He means too much to me." She looked at him. "But what about the government contract, Lester? How do I compete with that? He says the reason he won't commit to a relationship is because his life is too uncertain."

"Beautiful, you know that Bobby, Tank and I have the same contract, and I have to admit that it would be a real challenge to carry on a serious relationship with that hanging over my head. We've all discussed it, and we don't plan to re-sign the contracts when they expire next May. So who knows, maybe Ranger will reevaluate his commitment to you then as well." Stephanie leaned over and hugged Lester, and he kissed the top of her head. "Come on, Honey, you look pretty tired; let me walk you upstairs so you can get some sleep. We have a big meeting tomorrow morning."

"Yeah." She smiled. "Lester, you've been such a good friend to me. I don't deserve it. I'm sorry to have been such a bother this evening."

"Steph, you are one of us. We take care of each other. I have your back. Anytime you need to talk you call me, okay?"

"Okay."

Lester walked Stephanie to her apartment (and yes he also checked to make sure she was safe from the boogieman), kissed her on the cheek goodnight and drove home. Stephanie was exhausted, and tomorrow was going to be a busy day. She changed into a tank top and yoga pants, washed her face, dropped a grape and some leftover pizza crust into the cage for Rex, and went to bed. As she lay in her favorite thinking position, Stephanie realized that she needed to listen to her own words to Lula this morning. She needed to redefine her life…post-Joe, before she could ask another man into her life. This new job with Ranger would be awkward, but it was just what she needed to gain some confidence and skill to help her discover a _new and improved_ Stephanie Plum. Sleep overtook her, and dreams revealed fantasy images of her saving the world in a Wonder Woman costume.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	3. Chapter 3

Janet Evanovich owns them all. Lucky lady! I am just being green, and recycling them for your pleasure and reviews.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 3**

_Six o'clock….six o'clock…I can't believe I am waking up at six o'clock. I must be crazy. I haven't seen this side of six o'clock since…oh God, I can't even remember when._ Stephanie grumbled as she shut off the alarm. She stumbled to the kitchen, started the coffee and then stumbled to the bathroom for a nice hot shower.

"Ahhhhh…where the hell is the hot water! Dillon is _so_ going to hear about this!"

Dillon, the building super, lived in a basement apartment. He was really very good to Stephanie and would do just about anything for a case of beer, but as Stephanie gingerly showered and washed her hair in what felt like ice water, she wasn't feeling very charitable and kept imagining his face superimposed on a target in the gun range at RangeMan. After finishing her shower, she dressed and entered the kitchen to find…no coffee! The pot was plugged in, the button pushed…but no little drip, drip, drip.

"This is shaping up to be one hell of a day, Plum, and it's not even seven am!"

Stephanie needed to refocus. "Okay, okay, Steph, just shrug it all off, calm down. You only have to get to RangeMan and be prepared to give four highly trained Special Forces operatives a detailed presentation on how you plan to infiltrate the life of a man, connected to a man, connected to the mob, to obtain important information that will affect the success of the entire mission! No problem. You can do this. You are Wonder Woman!"

_That's much better,_ Stephanie thought. She was now ready to face the world…and Ranger. "I am so screwed!"

...XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX...XXX…

Stephanie scribbled a note to Dillon about her lack of hot water, left it taped to his door in the basement, hopped into her 2000 green Ford Focus, and arrived at RangeMan in time to grab a cup of coffee and a whole grain muffin from the break room. She then went directly to the conference room in order to organize her mess from the day before, organize her notes for the meeting, and organize her thoughts on how to best make her presentation… with Ranger sitting a few feet away. At 8:00 on the dot. Ranger, Les, Tank and Bobby walked in.

"Morning, Beautiful!" Les dropped a quick kiss on her cheek, and he gave her a reassuring look.

"Hey, Bombshell!" She received another kiss on the cheek from Bobby.

"Bomber." Tank nodded.

"Babe."

"Good morning." Stephanie was so nervous she couldn't look any of them in the eye. She took her seat and looked down at her notes.

Ranger took the seat next to her, and the rest of them sat as well.

"Babe, I think we're ready to hear from you first since our plans will develop from yours."

_You are the new improved Stephanie. You are the new improved Stephanie. You can do this Wonder Woman. _Stephanie stood.

"Okay, gentlemen, Andrew Sullivan lives a pretty quiet life. He's fairly wealthy, successful, and good-looking. He doesn't gamble, drink much, or carouse about town. Since the death of his wife and daughter, he rarely goes out at all. He goes to work, comes home in the evening, and pretty much stays there until the next morning. Except on Thursday nights." Stephanie took a deep breath. "During their surveillance, Les and Hector followed him the last three Thursdays to a restaurant in Philadelphia called Dino's. A check of his credit card statements indicate that he's been there every Thursday for the last two and a half months. He has dinner and then goes to the lounge for a few drinks and to watch the Cabaret shows. 'Cabaret night' is the theme on Thursdays at Dino's. Hector observed that, while a number of women have approached him in the lounge, he has not accepted any of their advances or 'invitations'. He does, however, seem to be very interested in the performances of the female singers, particularly the ones with auburn or red hair."

Stephanie was starting to feel much more comfortable and sure of herself as she presented her report. She was ready to give them her plan. "My idea is to get Sullivan's attention at one of the Cabaret performances that he attends. Since we're short on time it will have to be this Thursday. I spoke to a friend of mine, and he and his band have actually performed at Dino's before and are friendly with the manager. I went ahead and asked him to make arrangements for his band to play Thursday night. They secured the 9:00 performance slot."

"How is having your friend's band playing at the lounge going to help you get Sullivan's attention?" Les asked.

"Well...I 'm sort of…going to be on stage with them." Stephanie replied evasively. "I hope that will get his attention, then I should be able to strike up a conversation with him, and after that…I'll push for more of a connection using the information I have on the loss of his family."

"How are you hoping to get his attention?" Ranger asked.

Stephanie pulled a picture from her file and passed it around. The woman in the picture was stunning. She had wavy, shoulder length, auburn hair, green eyes, and a beautiful smile. "This is a picture of Marissa Sullivan, Andrew Sullivan's wife. By all accounts, in the file, Andrew was very much in love with her. Since he was so taken with the performers having red hair just like his wife, I am going to make an attempt to remind him of her even more so by mimicking some of her most striking features. Hair color and style, eye color, and even smell."

"Smell?" Bobby chuckled.

"Yes smell!" Stephanie responded defensively. "Marissa's thirty-fourth birthday was five months ago on May 8th. His credit card statements show that, three days prior, Andrew Sullivan purchased a silk scarf, a pair of sapphire earrings, and a bottle of Black Orchid perfume at Neiman Marcus in New York, and at $1200.00 an ounce I don't think he bought it for his mother. It was Marissa's signature scent."

"Her signature scent?" Bobby was still amused, and he actually chuckled again.

"The one that she always wore. The scent that her pillow smells like even though she's gone…so he sleeps against it. The scent Andrew would recognize anywhere; the scent that, every time he gets a whiff of it, he thinks of her and smiles."

"Wow, do guys really get all that from perfume?" Bobby was really intrigued by this whole revelation.

"They do when they're in love." Stephanie looked, for the first time, directly at Ranger. "Women are no different. A man's smell can trigger all kinds of reactions and emotions in a woman. Smell has a very powerful connection to memory."

"How do you know that it's her signature scent, Bombshell? Maybe he just picked that out for her as a surprise." Bobby just couldn't let this go.

"Men do not pick out new scents for their wives and longtime girlfriends. They buy what she always wears, because it's a safe bet, and they want to spend as little time as possible at the perfume counter. Let me show you some examples."

Stephanie pushed a button on the conference room phone. The dial tone instantly became audible to the room. She then punched in a number, and it rang three times.

"Hello."

"Hello, Daddy?"

"Hi, Pumpkin, your mom's not home right now."

"That's okay, Daddy, I just wanted to ask you a question."

"All right, honey, what is it?"

"Daddy, what did you buy mom last month for your anniversary?"

"Oh, I bought her some flowers, a new iron, and a bottle of perfume."

"What perfume did you buy?"

"Ah…it was Red something or other."

"Was it Red Door?"

"Yes, that's it, Red Door?"

"Why did you pick that perfume, Daddy?"

"Because it's what you mother likes. She wears it all the time."

"Thanks, Daddy, that's all I needed. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay, Pumpkin, bye."

Stephanie immediately dialed another number. This time it was answered on the first ring.

"Albert Kloughn."

"Hi, Albert, it's Steph."

"Oh hey, Steph, what's up?"

"Just a quick question, Albert. What was the name of the perfume you bought Val for her birthday?"

"Perfume? It had these little foam flowers on the bottle, they were...ah…ah…daisies. Yeah, that's the name, too. Daisy."

"Why did you get her that particular perfume, Albert?"

"Steph, you know why. It's the only kind she ever wears. She knows I like it on her. It makes me think of summer and our trip to Disney World."

"Thanks, Albert, that's all I needed. Have a good day!"

Stephanie hung up the phone. All the Merry Men were shaking their heads.

"Babe…." Ranger started to say.

"Tut, tut, tut…not yet…one more." Stephanie couldn't resist the temptation as she swung her chair around to face the large man sitting next to her. "Taaank." She said in a singsong voice.

"Bomber." He responded warily.

"Why did you have to detail the upholstery in your RangeMan vehicle two weeks ago?" There was a taunting quality to her voice.

"Uh…because it got dirty?" Tank lied.

"Nice try, Tank, let's try this again."

"Ah, Bomber, you're killing me here!" Tank had a pleading look on his face.

"Ranger." Stephanie said in a demanding voice.

"Tank, answer the question." Ranger's voice had authority to it, but his face showed pity for the man.

"Damn! I did it because the car still smelled like Lula from our last date, and I couldn't concentrate on my surveillance job the night before."

"And what's the name of Lula's signature scent, Tank?"

"Steph!" Tank protested.

"Ranger!" Stephanie demanded.

"Tank!" Ranger commanded.

"Fine, it's seonthebee," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Stephanie knew very well the name of Lula's perfume, but she was going to make big tough Tank say it out loud in front of the guys.

"It's called SEX ON THE BEACH! Okay! Are you happy?" he yelled.

Lester and Bobby snickered. Ranger grinned.

"Yes. Sorry, big guy, but it was for the good of the mission." Stephanie giggled. "I rest my case, gentlemen."

"Damn, Beautiful, you make meetings fun!"

"Thanks, Les," she smiled. "Anyway, back to my plan. I'll spritz on the perfume, wear green contacts to assimilate Marissa's eye color, and change my hair. I think all of this, combined with the stage performance, will get his attention. Once I have that, I will lure him in with my sparkling personality…at least that's the goal. Of course, the fact that he is financially successful and dresses the part, almost certainly makes him an easy mark for gold diggers. I 'm sure he's wary of women. It's most likely one of the reasons that he turns down the ones who approach him. I will have to make it very clear early in the conversation that I am financially comfortable myself. I don't want to leave any room for doubt that my approach is innocent and not predatory."

"Babe, you've really put a lot of work and thought into this. Is there anymore?"

"Well, the guys did great research and surveillance; and the report gave me a lot to work with, but I do need some additional input and ideas from you. Once I establish the initial contact with Sullivan and develop some interest, we want this relationship to progress to the next level; maybe even get Sullivan to ask me out. I thought I would start by convincing him to give me a ride home Thursday night; then hopefully that would lead to an invitation for a second meeting. Since he isn't considered dangerous, I should be safe enough, and I would wear a wire.

"You would always have at least one of us close by, as well," Ranger interjected.

"My problem is that if I am going to project the image that I live comfortably, I can't have him bring me back to my apartment. Besides the fact that it's back here in Trenton, it doesn't exactly scream comfortable income, if you know what I mean. Any ideas?"

Ranger sat with his fingers steepled together on the conference table, thinking. Eventually he stood and moved to the wall behind them. He pulled a cord, and a map of Trenton and the surrounding areas unrolled. "We have a safe house located here, which is a little more than halfway between Trenton and Philadelphia. It's a nice house in a well-to-do neighborhood. We'll use that as your residence. I'll have Ella go out there today to get it ready. An old army buddy of mine lives next door and keeps up with the maintenance of the place. He and his wife would also be able to back-up your cover story if needed. You'll also need a different car, Babe, no offense to your current ride, but…"

"None taken."

"We would want you to have a different car anyway. One that we can alter the registration on to verify your new name and address, just in case someone checks up on you. By the way, have you chosen a name for yourself?"

"No, I hadn't given that any thought yet."

"Tank needs that information today. It's his job to develop the paper trail to confirm your identity. He will make sure you have everything you need in that respect. Anything else?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. I am going to have a child."

Four faces immediately turned to look directly at her with unbelievable expressions. Lester's jaw almost dropped to the floor, and Tank snapped a pen in half that he was holding. She was pretty sure Ranger had stopped breathing.

"Say again, Beautiful?"

"A son, I am going to have a son." Since the faces didn't change Stephanie realized that they still didn't understand. Ranger was actually beginning to look a little pale. It was kind of funny. "I mean as part of my cover. I will be a widowed mother of a 3-year-old son. But I need pictures for my wallet and home. I was hoping that either Lester or Ranger could provide me with a picture of himself at that age to make it more credible. I want him to have dark hair and brown eyes."

The entire room relaxed. Ranger started to breathe again.

"Sure thing, Beautiful, no problem. We can come up with something."

Ranger finally recovered his composure. "Babe, make sure you give Tank the name of your son and your dearly departed husband as well, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Ranger, is it possible to have some kind of fake investment portfolio created as well? Something that would show the financial detail of what my husband left behind for me? What I was thinking is that once we develop a friendlier relationship, I could ask Andrew to look over my investments for kind of a second opinion, as a friend. Since he is a private investment analyst, it should be right up his alley. It might be the way to get myself invited into his house, and I would be able to snoop around."

"That's a great idea, Babe. Tank can take care of that, also."

"There is one more thing, Ranger, and I don't know if it has any bearing on the mission, but it just set off my spidey sense when I was working yesterday, and I can't shake it."

"What is it, Babe?"

"When I was going through the Sullivan's bank records, I noticed that in the ten days prior to the accident that killed her and her daughter Madison, Marissa Sullivan made two payments from her own personal checking account to an attorney in Trenton. That attorney just so happens to be my ex-husband Dickie Orr. I called Dickie's secretary because she owed me a favor, and I convinced her to tell me that Marissa was seeking advice for a divorce. No papers had been filed. The meetings were just consultations. My guess is that she came to Trenton to avoid having someone find out what she was up to. So that got me thinking, and I decided to read up on the details of the accident. Marissa and her little girl were killed on a Wednesday night at 11:15, during a terrible storm. In an interview with the police, Andrew stated that Marissa had been on her way to the drug store to pick up some medicine for their daughter. Andrew was at home when the police notified him of the accident. It doesn't make sense. I'm only a hamster mommy, and even I wouldn't consider dragging a young child out into a thunderstorm late at night; especially when her father was at home. That child was only 4-years old and allegedly sick. She should have been in bed. Maybe she told Andrew that night about her intentions to file for a divorce, and if he didn't take it well, maybe, Marissa decided to leave and take Madison with her."

"Do you have anything to back-up that theory, Babe?"

"No, it's just intuition. Like I said it may not be important."

"Good work, Babe, we'll keep that in mind. That information may come in handy. Does anyone have anything else to report?" Everyone shook their heads. "Okay then, Babe, we all need to get started on developing your cover, just ask one of us if you need anything else. Dismissed."

Once again, everyone left the room leaving Ranger and Stephanie alone.

"Babe, I want you to take this credit card. You're obviously going to need to purchase some things to set this up. Tank will have your car, keys and documents ready sometime tomorrow. You should probably get settled in the safe house by tomorrow night so you can become familiar with it." Ranger paused for a moment and then got a slight grin on his face. "Are you really going to sing with a band?"

"Yes." Stephanie sounded offended. "Does that surprise you? I can sing. My mother thought every good Burg girl should have some musical talent. So Val took piano and I took voice lessons. We both took dance lessons too. I'm actually quite the well-rounded woman, Ranger. Except I can't cook, and I'm a lousy housekeeper."

Ranger pulled Stephanie into his arms and nuzzled his face into her hair, and Stephanie relaxed for the first time since she woke up this morning. "I'll say you're well rounded," he teased; then he got serious. "Babe?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry about last night."

"I know, Carlos, I'm sorry, too." Stephanie paused. "I never should have said those things to you. I don't want to ruin what we have, and I don't want us to be uncomfortable around each other. I couldn't stand that. I also shouldn't have run away. I want you to always be able to tell me the truth and not have to worry about hurting me."

"Babe, I will always be your friend, no matter what else happens…. You don't know how much I wish I could be more for you." He pulled back and looked at her for a long moment and rubbed his thumb across her cheek. Then he relaxed his body with an almost sigh. "So, what are your plans for today?"

Stephanie took the change in direction of the conversation as a cue to step away from their intimate exchange. She turned toward the table and became very busy organizing her papers. "Well, at 10:00 I am scheduled to meet with my friend and his band. We're going to rehearse and he's going to help me with my costume. Later this afternoon, I have my hair appointment with Mr. Alexander at the mall, and then I thought I would shop for the contacts, and some clothes and accessories that may come in handy for the job, if that's okay with you."

"Get whatever you need, Babe. Stop by my office on your way out and I'll give you some cash to cover any expenses that can't be taken care of with the card."

Stephanie's phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and answered. "Hello. Oh hey, Dillon." Long pause. "How long?" pause. "Two days!" pause. "No, I understand. I'll figure out something. Thanks, bye."

"Problem, Babe?"

'My hot water heater died. I discovered it while taking a shower this morning…a very cold shower. That was Dillon, my super. He said it wouldn't be replaced until Thursday afternoon."

"Why don't you stay here tonight? It would be easier to have you close while we work on the details of the mission anyway. Then tomorrow night, you will be settled into the safe house."

"You mean stay on four?"

"No, I don't have anything open on four, right now. You can stay on seven with me."

"I don't know, Ranger. After last night, that doesn't sound like a good idea."

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior."

"It's not your behavior I'm worried about. It's mine."

"I think I can handle it. Why don't you bring Rex over, too? Ella can take care of him while you're on assignment."

"I'll think about it." Stephanie thought that this would be a very bad idea, but her options were limited. She could go to her parent's house, but sharing a bathroom with Daddy and Grandma in the past had proven to be a disaster. "Oh, look at the time, I need to get things in order here, talk to Tank and get to my rehearsal."

"Okay, Babe, have a good day." He hesitated just briefly then leaned in and kissed her. The kiss started innocently enough but then grew in intensity. Stephanie put her arms around his neck and pulled him close. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer. Finally, needing air, they broke apart. "Dolci Vita, Babe."

"What?" Stephanie was still in a fog from the kiss and looked confused.

"Your scent. It's Dolci Vita." He smiled, turned and left the room.

Stephanie's day was definitely looking up, but now she desperately needed cake!

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	4. Chapter 4

Janet Evanovich owns all the rights to these characters. Don't we all wish we had rights just with Ranger! But alas, he's all hers.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 4**

Stephanie picked up a large box of donuts and drove over to Sally Sweets house. Sally's band consisted of a rag tag group of cross dressers, some straight, some gay. They were actually very nice guys, and they were excited to help Stephanie with her cover story. Sally had helped Stephanie with some skips on a couple occasions in the past and had single handedly saved her life last year when the slayers gang tried to kill her on Stark Street. She trusted him, considered him a good friend, and, as a bonus, he also had a great sense of style, especially when it came to glamour. Sally was at least 6'3" and that was without heels. Today he was wearing an off the shoulder, bright blue, peasant blouse with a multi-colored floral skirt that ended just below his knees. He had paired this outfit with pearl drop earrings, a matching necklace, and 2-inch heeled sandals that laced up his legs. All in all, an attractive look; if you ignored the hairy chest and legs. She was counting on him to design the perfect costume for her act.

When she arrived, the band was all assembled and waiting to rehearse in the basement. Stephanie spent a few minutes going over her ideas and the plan for Thursday. Together they came up with what she considered to be a good selection of songs that she would feel comfortable performing on stage. Cabaret music wasn't the band's regular "sound". They most often played 70's & 80's rock, and sometimes, depending on the audience, they played more contemporary rock, but they were talented musicians and easily adapted to her needs. They rehearsed for a couple of hours and decided to meet again the next day.

"Damn, Stephanie, you fucking surprised me. Shit, I didn't know you could do something like this! Where the fuck did you get that voice?" Sally had been working hard to limit his use of profanity. He was actually down about fifty percent.

"Thanks, Sally. Years of voice lessons in the Burg. I sang a little in college, too. There was a little café near the campus that would occasionally host a talent night. A few of my friends and I would work up a couple of numbers similar to this and perform. It was fun!"

"You are going to fuckin' knock them off their feet. My band dudes were impressed."

"If I can impress Andrew Sullivan and get him to notice me, it will be good enough for me."

"Oh he'll fuckin' notice you, baby. But we're not done. We are going to dress you in something fucking awesome. I'm thinking gold and sparkly shit, especially for that second number. Honey, even Brenda won't have any shit on you. I'm going to make you a fuckin' star."

"I don't want to be a star, Sally. I just want to do my job so I don't disappoint the rest of the team."

"Stephanie, no one will be fucking disappointed in you on Thursday night. Let me just take some measurements and you can go. Leave the fuckin' rest to me. Tomorrow I'll have some things for you to try on. Can you come an a couple hours early to do that?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

Sally pulled out a tape measure and began taking Stephanie's measurements and jotting things down. He even got her shoe size.

"I knew you would come through for me, Sally. This is really important. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Hell yes, Steph. I already talked to my dude at Dino's, and he's meeting with us at fuckin' 7:30." He'll give us a fuckin' tour of the place and give us some ideas on how to use their stage and shit. He also said that we could come in Thursday morning and do a practice run through with the whole fucking band."

"You didn't tell him why were doing this, did you?"

No fuckin' way. I told him that you were setting this up as a surprise for your boyfriend's birthday. He's an okay dude and was cool with it. Besides you will definitely be good for his fucking business."

"You're the best, Sally! I've gotta go. I'll be back around 6:00 to pick you up."

Stephanie grabbed a quick lunch at the McDonald's drive through and headed over to the Quakerbridge Mall. She gave Mr. Alexander the picture of Marissa Sullivan and told him she needed her own hair color to be similar to that of the woman in the picture. When he finished he also gave her some hairstyle suggestions for her performance. Two and a half hours later, Stephanie was a red head.

"Wow!" She was shocked. "I wasn't really sure red was going to be my color, but it's great!" Stephanie couldn't stop looking in the mirror. She was really going to do this. She was going to work undercover and gather intelligence to catch the bad guy. All those times when Ranger would go "in the wind" she imagined these kinds of missions taking place in far off exotic places. Now it was taking place in her own backyard. The thought of what lay before her was daunting.

She paid her bill, giving a generous tip to Mr. Alexander, courtesy of RangeMan. She then phoned Lula to join her. Despite her own often flashy wardrobe choices, Lula was actually very adept at choosing outfits for Stephanie that were tasteful and accentuated her best assets. She purchased several pairs of green contact lenses, and when Lula arrived, she gave her a brief rundown of her undercover assignment (swearing her to secrecy) and then they set their sights on some designer clothes and shoes! Lots of shoes!

"Girl, I can't believe Ranger gave you a charge card. That's one of them Black cards. No limit. Hell, you could buy a small island with that card. Are you sure you haven't been doing the nasty with him?"

"Are you suggesting that I slept with Ranger for money? That I'm some kind of... kept woman?"

"Well, I'm just sayin' that you just bought a shitload of expensive clothes and Ranger's payin' for it." Lula put her hands on her hips and glared at Stephanie. "In my experience a man don't do that for a woman that ain't puttin' out. You're holding back on me, girl. Spill it!"

"I just told you about the assignment I'm doing for Ranger's company. If you don't believe me, ask Tank. He'll tell you."

"Oh I will, believe me. I have ways to make Tank talk." Stephanie was sure that Lula had the skills to rival any torture Tank might face on the most dangerous assignment. She had seen the way Tank looked at Lula. That man had fallen hard and fast.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…

With her little Ford Focus loaded up with all her purchases, Stephanie said goodbye to Lula and headed back to Sally Sweet's, stopping along the way to pick up dinner for the two of them. Stephanie was surprised to see Sally had dressed rather conservatively for a change. He had on stone washed jeans, a blue button down shirt and pink high tops.

"Sally, that's a different look for you, isn't it?"

"Shit, girl, I have to dress the fuckin' part. I can't be your manager in a club like this and wear my normal shit. I have to look fucking respectable."

"My manager? Sally, I don't think we need to go that far with this cover. You can just be the one in charge of the band. Remember I'm only doing this for a surprise for my boyfriend. I am not claiming to be a professional singer. I shouldn't have a manager."

"Well, fuck. Okay, but the boys and I are still going to dress respectable for the fucking performance on Thursday. We don't want to steal your limelight."

"I appreciate that, Sally. I know you prefer a flashier look when you're on stage." Stephanie had been to many of Sally's 'gigs'. For a short time, even Lula performed with the band as a back up singer. The outfits were often more outstanding than the show, frequently consisting of flyaway feathers, spandex, sequins and the exposure of lots of skin.

Stephanie and Sally drove the almost hour long drive to Dino's, excitedly discussing the assortment of outfits that Sally had come up with for Stephanie to try on. Some of them sounded a bit out there, but others had potential. She couldn't wait to try them on in the next day.

When they reached the restaurant, Stephanie took in the upper class atmosphere that the inside projected. So many times her distractions had taken place in dives that were almost too scary to consider sitting in. Stale cigarette smoke, beer, and sweaty smelling men with missing teeth were not uncommon denominators in the places she normally worked. This place was gorgeous. The lounge where she would be performing had at least three-dozen tables, each covered with black linen tablecloths and cozily surrounded with upholstered chairs. The bar was massive, maybe mahogany, detailed with ornate carvings. Behind the bar was a selection of what must have been every libation available on the planet. Imported and domestic whisky, brandy, wine, tequila…it was endless. Behind the bottles was the largest mirror Stephanie had ever seen. It made the room look even larger. The stage was small, but perfect for the intimacy she wanted to create. There was even a well-supplied dressing room that would be made available to her on Thursday.

Sally seemed very please with the sound system and lighting that had been added since the last time his band had performed there. The manager was very accommodating and was excited to be part of the ruse and, since Ranger had given her a large sum of cash, Stephanie gave him $200.00 for his time and willingness to help make her boyfriend's birthday memorable.

It was late by the time they returned to Trenton, and Stephanie dropped Sally back at his place. She debated about where to sleep. She finally decided to go back to her own apartment, because she wasn't ready to put herself back into the midst of temptation so soon. It was important that she take some time and stick with her plan to discover the new and improved Stephanie first. She also needed to unload her purchases and pack for her stay at the safe house, call her parents to let them know that she would be out of town for a while, and clean out the perishables from her refrigerator so she would not return to a stinky mess. In the morning she would load up her suitcases and Rex, take out the garbage, and then head over to Haywood to grab a shower in Ranger's apartment on seven. She would have called Ranger to let him know of her decision, but she knew that, between her car and her purse, she probably had a minimum of at least two tracking devices monitoring her position. Ranger would know exactly where she was tonight.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

When Stephanie pulled into the garage at RangeMan, she grabbed Rex and a small suitcase, containing some personal care products and a change of clothes, and took the elevator directly to seven. She used her key fob to access the apartment hoping that Ranger was already gone for the morning. She set Rex on the kitchen counter and headed for Ranger's bathroom. When she opened the bedroom door Ranger was standing there half dressed.

"God, Ranger, I'm sorry, I thought you'd be gone by now."

"It's okay, Babe, you know you can be here anytime."

"I know that, but I should have knocked. I'm sorry."

"Babe, stop. You don't have to knock; my place is your place. He looked down at the suitcase in her hand. Is that everything you brought?" He sounded rather amused.

"Oh, this…no, this is just for now. I thought I would use your shower, if that's alright. I put Rex in the kitchen and the rest of my luggage is still down in the car. Believe me there's lots more. I couldn't make up my mind on what to bring so I packed almost my entire closet, plus the new things I bought yesterday. I want to do this right for you, Ranger, I want to be prepared."

Ranger walked up to her, put his arms around her waist and pulled her in. Having Shirtless Ranger right up against her face was nearly unbearable; the scent of his Bvlgari Green soap filling her senses deeply enough that she could almost taste him. She was so transported in that moment that she almost didn't hear his next words. "Stop worrying, you'll be great. He kissed the top of her hair. Go take your shower, and I'll have Ella send up breakfast."

"Um…Thanks." She was struggling to remain coherent. _God it was a good thing I didn't stay here last night. I wouldn't have stood a chance against this body._

"And, Babe?"

_Oh damn, did I say that out loud?_ "Yes," she squeaked.

He tugged a ringlet and wrapped it around his finger. "I like the hair."

Stephanie reached up and touched her hair. She had forgotten that it was different. She smiled at Ranger and then headed to the bathroom. After her shower, Stephanie decided to run some product through her hair to tame the wild curls and then carefully used a blow dryer to finish. She wanted to leave it down so that she and Sally could tryout some hairstyles later in the day. At the last minute, she decided to put in a set of the green contacts. She thought it would be good to get comfortable with them right away. When she dressed and entered the kitchen, Ranger had a wonderful breakfast waiting at the counter.

"Did Ella make French toast?"

"She likes to spoil you, Babe." As he looked up to speak, Ranger noticed the green eyes immediately. He reached one hand to her cheek and gently rubbed his thumb under her eye. "Still beautiful."

"It's a whole new me. I kinda like it."

"Not a thing wrong with the old you."

Stephanie smiled, took a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar, and dug right in. She ate three pieces of French toast, smothered in buttered and syrup, bacon, scrambled eggs, and coffee. Ranger had one piece of French toast, topped with fruit, half a grapefruit, and coffee.

"Mmmmm." Stephanie moaned. "God, Ranger, you don't know what you're missing! You have to learn to appreciate the finer things in life, like warm maple syrup and crunchy bacon. Mmmmmmm."

"Babe, I'm looking at one of the finer things in life right now and believe me, I appreciate it." He gave her one of his famous wolf grins that made her all warm inside. He wouldn't stop looking at her, and she had to turn her gaze away before she blushed.

She blushed anyway. _Damn, he did it again!_

"After breakfast, can you stop down on five to pick up your document package and ID from Tank?"

"Yeah, I actually was planning to spend the morning here going over the research some more; then I have a costume fitting at 1:00 and a band rehearsal at 3:00. I should be ready to head over to the safe house around 6:00. I assume someone here is coming with me?"

"I'm going with you… in your new car. Tank said it would be delivered around noon."

"Can I drive it to my appointments today? What kind of car is it? What color is it? Please tell me it's not black!" Stephanie was as excited as a child at Christmas. It made Ranger smile.

"Yes, Babe, you can take it, but the rest is a surprise…but no, it's not black. When you come back to get me tonight, we'll have dinner first and then drive to the safe house.

"Okay, I'd like that."

They finished up breakfast and headed down the elevator together. Ranger headed to his office and Stephanie stopped in to see Tank. He handed her a thick packet containing all her documents to make her undercover persona credible. She pulled them out to look them over. When Tank noticed her smiling at the birth certificate of her child, the marriage certificate, and the death certificate for her husband, he grinned.

"What?" Steph asked.

"Did you tell him, Bomber?"

"No…did you?"

"No, he hasn't seen them."

"Good. Let's just keep this our little secret for now. It will be a fun surprise Thursday night."

"Oh, it'll be a surprise alright… Mrs. Ricardo Granger!" He was grinning from ear to ear.

"You don't think he'll send me to Siberia, do you?" She smiled, put everything back in the envelope, and left the office without getting an answer.

Stephanie spent the rest of the morning in her cubicle going over the files, conferring with Lester and Bobby about last minute details, and making a list of things she still needed to do and pick up. She wasn't able to find the Black Orchid perfume in Trenton. She would have to purchase it tomorrow in one of the stores located in Philadelphia. Throughout the morning she kept getting strange looks from the Merry Men, and she had to remind herself that they were probably taken aback by her appearance. Lester was the only one, other than Ranger, to actually say anything to her.

"My, my, Beautiful, you look…"

"Different?"

"Yeah…but…"

"Stunning?"

"Always, but…."

"Sexy?"

"Hell yes…, but…"

"Spit it out, Lester!"

"Damn, Beautiful, you look absolutely delicious."

"Oh,... well, thank you. That's just what I was going for." Stephanie gave Lester a peck on the cheek and went back to work.

Stephanie was so busy with last minute details that she worked right into the lunch hour. When she realized it was already 12:30, she grabbed her bag, popped into Ranger's office to let him know she was leaving and would return later, grabbed a sandwich, apple and bottle of juice from the break room, and ran down five flights of stairs to the garage. And there it was. Her car.

"Oh…. Oh…" Stephanie realized she was alone and could only look toward the security camera to make some kind of human contact with which to share her excitement. But immediately the stairwell doors opened and Ranger and Tank entered the garage with big smiles on their faces.

"Oh, it's beautiful…I love it…. it's…. It's blue…. It's not black…. It's…perfect…it's… it's so… expensive! Ranger, is this a Lexus? Oh God, you can't give me a Lexus. It will blow up…. Or someone will steal it…. Or it will catch on fire…. Or the space shuttle will fall out of the sky and land right on it. Ooooh it's so beautiful! You shouldn't let me near it. I have such bad car karma, Ranger. Tank, take it back, just get me a Honda or something. Really you guys can't let me drive this…Oooh it's so beautiful."

Ranger was smiling a 1000-watt grin. Tank was laughing his head off.

"Breathe, Babe, this is your car. It's perfect for your cover. This is a Lexus RX 450, in cerulean metallic blue, to match the _real_ color of your eyes. It's the perfect car for a financially comfortable, widowed mother of a small child. I'm sure your husband wouldn't have wanted you to drive anything else."

Tank was still laughing at her reaction, but he managed to reach in his pocket to retrieve the key fob.

"Here you go, Bomber, it's all yours, but if you want to get in on the pool, I believe no one has put any money down on five days."

"Five days?"

"Yeah, the guys are placing bets on the number of days until it's destroyed. Five isn't taken yet."

Stephanie grabbed the keys with indignation, but when she turned back to the car she melted right back into utter joy at the sight before her. She gave Ranger a kiss on the cheek, opened the driver's door, and climbed in. After a few seconds, the engine started and the driver's window smoothly glided down. "It really is a beautiful car, Ranger. Tank?"

"Yeah, Bomber?"

"Put me down for $50 on five days."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	5. Chapter 5

Janet E. makes all the dough. I write for fun.

..xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 5**

Stephanie arrived at Sally's house just a few minutes after 1:00, and she was surprised to see Lula there. Obviously she had talked to Tank.

"Girl, how you goin' to be d'bomb on stage if you don't listen to me? I have experience at this stuff. I know what it takes to get a man to look at you. I was a professional!"

They spent the next two hours discussing hair and trying on a wide assortment of costumes. Some required Houdini like skills to get in and then back out of. Others revealed way too much Stephanie goodness. There was even one that looked amazing but fitted her snugly all the way down to her knees, which only allowed her to produce a kind of shuffle walk. But one...one dress was perfect. They all agreed.

"Shit, baby, this is just what I fuckin' envisioned. You have got to wear this damn dress."

"That is definitely the one, white girl. That boy would be a fool not ta' notice you."

Stephanie spun in front of the mirror looking back over her shoulder to see the rear view. "You are absolutely right, guys. This is the dress. What about shoes, Sally?"

"Oh, Steph, I have the shit perfect shoes for that dress right here." Sally opened a box to reveal a completely rhinestone covered pair of 4-inch open toed FMPs, with sexy little straps that buckled at the ankle. They sparkled in the sunshine like diamonds.

"Those are the most magical looking shoes I have ever seen." Stephanie couldn't take her eyes off them.

"Put em' on, girl."

Stephanie quickly slipped the shoes on, but had to have Lula buckle them because of the restrictions of her dress. She stood up and looked in the mirror.

"Damn, Steph, your legs look a mile long. And your ass…fuck!" Stephanie giggled at Sally's awe. It felt a little funny being ogled by a man in a dress.

"Sally, you've out done yourself. This whole plan is falling into place because of you. I owe you big time. Now help me get out of this 'cause the rest of the band will be here any minute."

Lula carefully peeled the dress off Stephanie and placed it back in the dress bag along with the magical shoes and undergarments for transport to Philadelphia. The rest of the band arrived a few minutes later, and an exhausting rehearsal ensued. They went over the numbers again and again until Sally declared them perfection. By 5:30 Stephanie was wiped out and hungry. During the discussion with the manager of Dino's the night before, it was agreed to that, following Stephanie's performance; Sally and the band would finish the hour playing dance music. They were intending to grab some dinner now, and then would rehearse another hour after that. Stephanie was invited to join them, but she begged off, waved goodbye, climbed into her beautiful car, and headed back to RangeMan.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

When Stephanie pulled into the garage at Haywood, Ranger was standing there waiting for her with a small duffle bag in hand.

Ranger stepped up to the driver's window. "How did you…..? Never mind," she stuttered. It suddenly dawned on her that, obviously, her car came with the RangeMan deluxe security package, and that a GPS tracker had already been dutifully installed. She reached under the front seat, and yep, there was the standard issue hidden Maglite. Later she would have to investigate further. Dollars to donuts there was a bullet proof flak vest in the back.

"Babe, give me your keys to the Focus and open the back of the Lexus. I'll move your luggage."

She dug through her purse, found the keys and handed them to Ranger. It took Stephanie a few moments to find the right button to push, but eventually she hit one and heard the satisfying 'click' followed by the 'whoosh' of the hydraulics lifting the back gate. _This car is so cool! _She stepped out of the car and tried to help. "I got this, Babe."

Stephanie heard the sound of the stairwell door opening and Lester appeared. He immediately began to assist with transferring Stephanie's luggage.

"Damn, Beautiful, you planning to move into this house permanently? 'Cause by the looks of all this luggage, you can't have left much back in that apartment of yours."

"Sorry." She gave a sheepish look to Ranger. "I tried to warn you this morning." After all the bags were loaded, Ranger closed the back gate. 'Thanks for helping, Les."

"Sure thing." Lester gave Stephanie a kiss on the top of her head, and smiled. "See you tomorrow, Beautiful. Break a leg!" He got into his car and drove away.

Stephanie got back into the driver's seat and Ranger entered opposite. "Where to for dinner, Boss?"

"Driver's choice."

"Okay, McDonald's it is."

"Babe."

"Just kidding, just kidding. How about someplace where we won't run into anyone we know? I'm not up for socializing and answering a bunch of questions…. Especially about this car or my hair."

"Head over to I95 and drive towards Philly. A few exits out, there's a nice little Mexican restaurant I think you'll like."

"Sounds great."

When they arrived at the restaurant they were seated in a booth near the back. Ranger, per usual, sat facing the room so he could survey and protect. The assignment had officially begun, and he was in guard dog mode. They kept the conversation casual throughout the meal, and Stephanie drank two frozen raspberry margaritas. She was now feeling much better.

Ranger paid the bill, and they headed back outside. Stephanie stumbled slightly off a small step. "Ooops." She giggled, as he caught her around the waist to steady her. "Ranger, I think it's your turn to drive my beautiful car. I must be a little tired."

Ranger chuckled as he pulled her to his chest and tucked a single curl behind her ear. "Yeah, Babe, that's it. You must be tired. You have been very busy the last few days. Let's get you home so you can get a good night's rest. I'll drive."

Another thirty minutes on the road and they pulled into a beautiful neighborhood. Ranger made a couple of turns and headed into the driveway at the end of a short cul-de-sac. He reached overhead, pushed a button on a small remote, and the garage door opened. Once inside, Ranger closed the garage door behind them.

"This is it, Babe. Welcome home."

They exited the car and Ranger pulled a set of keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door and they entered the house. He reached to his right and flipped a couple of switches. The kitchen came to light.

"Home." Stephanie sighed. She immediately began to investigate. The kitchen was huge and well equipped with gadgets and appliances that appeared to be top-of-the-line. Stephanie wasn't even sure she knew how to use some of them. The refrigerator was fully stocked, as was the pantry. She moved from the kitchen, through the dining room and into the living room. It was beautiful. The room was warm and inviting. She looked at Ranger.

"Ella?"

He nodded. "Ella does all the decorating in our safe houses. She has a ball doing it, and she has a knack for it."

Stephanie continued to look around, when a basket in the corner caught her eye. "Toys?"

"They belong to your son. There's also a booster seat at the kitchen table, and around here somewhere is a car seat. I'll put that in your car later." Stephanie smiled at the thought of Domestic, Daddy Ranger. "I'm going to bring in your luggage. Why don't you go upstairs and look around?"

There were three bedrooms and three bathrooms on the second floor. One of the rooms had been decorated in a fireman theme. A room, Stephanie imagined any little boy would go nuts over. She was still standing in the doorway when Ranger came by with his first load of luggage. She turned and followed him to the master bedroom.

"Wow! This room is bigger than my apartment." Stephanie was overwhelmed by the luxury of the space as she started exploring. She opened a set of double doors. "This closet is bigger than my kitchen. It's huge!" She continued to investigate and found a door that lead to the master bath. "Okay, I have officially died and gone to heaven." The bathroom was solid marble and mirrors. It had double sinks and not only a shower, with eight showerheads, but also a Jacuzzi style tub that at least three people could comfortably swim in together. "I should be paying you. This is like being on vacation, except I've never been on a vacation where I stayed anywhere this nice. The closest I've ever come to something like this is your apartment on seven." Stephanie sighed and looked at Ranger. "That made my life sound pretty pathetic, didn't it?"

"Babe, I'm glad you like it and that you enjoy being here, but it's just a house."

"Yeah, just a house with a bedroom you can land a plane in!"

Ranger chuckled. "I'm going to go get the rest of your luggage."

Stephanie decided to start unpacking right away. Some of the nicer things she brought needed to be hung up before they became wrinkled. She hung the costumes for her performance but left them in the garment bags, because she didn't want Ranger to see them yet. As she continued to unpack, she fingered the designer clothes and pulled out the expensive shoes, all her concerns about what she would be doing over the next two weeks started building. _What was I thinking? I can't do this._ _This is insane. I'm going to fail._ And before she knew it she was sitting on the floor of the walk-in closet in a panic, and Ranger was crouched down in front of her with concern on his face.

"Babe, are you okay? Are you sick?" He carefully lifted her, carried her over to the bed, and sat down with her on his lap. "What's wrong?" He was really starting to look as panicked as she felt, but she was having trouble forming words.

"Oh god, what am I doing here, Ranger? What made me think I could do this? I must be crazy. You're going to be so sorry you asked me to be part of this when I screw it all up! I could be the reason that this whole thing fails!"

"Babe, you are not going to screw this up. You have already made a big difference in the probability of success for this job. You found information we never would have looked for. Tomorrow night, you're putting yourself out there for the whole team. We have to sit back and watch you do all the work. And, Babe, you have never disappointed me, or any of my men, on any job you've done for us."

"But this is different. So much of this depends on me, on my skills. This is days of me keeping up a façade. I've never had to do that before."

"Babe, you're ready. You spent the last two days going over all the information. Tank has you covered with a complete and credible background. You. Will. Be. Fine."

"Really?"

"Really, Babe."

"Ranger, How long will you be here?"

"I'm all yours until tomorrow morning, then I have to head back into Trenton, get a few things done, and I'll be back tomorrow night. Why?"

"Well, just make sure you pay yourself double for having to spend the night babysitting my fragile self-esteem and total lack of self-confidence."

"Babe, I can describe my time spent with you as being, adventurous, frustrating, calming, educational, enlightening, sensual, and sometimes scary; but I have never considered it babysitting." He kissed the top of her head. "Why don't you go take a nice long, hot bath in that swimming pool in there? I'll go down and put together a snack. I think I saw Ella's chocolate cake under a glass dome on the kitchen counter."

Stephanie smiled and slowly rose from Ranger's lap. Just as she was about to enter the bathroom, she turned around. "Thanks, Batman. I feel much better now."

Stephanie stayed in the bath for nearly an hour. She finally decided it was time to get out when all the bubbles died and the water went tepid. There was an amazingly soft bathrobe hanging on the door, _God bless Ella_, and she wrapped it around herself. When she opened the door, Ranger was waiting with a tray of all kinds of goodies to spoil her with.

"I must have looked pretty bad earlier for you to be offering me all this." She smiled guiltily. "Ordinarily you would be hiding these things from me, or at the very least be giving me 'the look' while I ate them."

"You've had a long day. Besides, Ella will ask me tomorrow if you had any of the cake."

"I notice quite a bit of the selection here is sweet. Worried, Ranger?" Now she was baiting him. Stephanie thought it was a good time to lighten the mood with a healthy round of 'Flirt Shamelessly'.

"I don't know what you mean." He walked over to her and set the tray on the bed.

"Yes you do. You know how I get when I deprive myself of sugar." She looked up into his eyes.

"No, I don't. Why don't you tell me?" He tugged on her bathrobe tie.

"Well…my hormones get all out of whack… and I become… uninhibited… and a little out of control," she whispered seductively.

"Is that so? We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" He nuzzled her neck,

"I don't know, sometimes it can be kind of… fun. Adventurous even," she gasped.

"I love a good adventure." He nibbled her earlobe.

"Oh, yeah?" she moaned.

"Yeah." He loosened her bathrobe tie. She froze.

"Damn, you win! Give me the cake first." She stepped back defeated once again.

Ranger gave her an extra large piece of cake. He smiled.

After effectively reducing her chances of attacking Ranger during the night, by consuming large quantities of sugar, Stephanie was done for the day. She headed into the closet and put on her favorite tank top and boy short set to sleep in. She popped into the bathroom to perform her nightly beauty rituals and climbed into bed. Ranger followed suit except he just wore black silk boxers. He pulled her to his chest, kissed her on the head, and reached over to turn off the lamp on the bedside table.

"Ranger?"

"Babe?"

"What did you mean, earlier, when you said your time with me was adventurous, frustrating, calming, educational, enlightening, sensual, and sometimes scary?"

He sat up on his elbow and turned her face to his. "Well, it's _adventurous_ every time I work with you. Things rarely go according to plan." He continued. "It is _frustrating_ watching you during a distraction and hearing my men's comments through my earpiece." He took a curl from her hair and wrapped it around his finger. "It's _calming_ when I watch you sleep or hold you in my arms. It's _educational_ because I've learned from you that understanding people and how they think can be just as valuable, if not more so, than muscle and weapons." He used his thumb to softly trace her lips. "You've _enlightened_ me by showing me that my life doesn't have to be all work, and my heart all alone. And it's _sensual_ anytime we're together."

"Even when we're arguing?"

"Especially then. Your fire is one of the most sensual things about you. Your eyes burn with passion when you're angry." He kissed her sweetly.

"When is it scary? I've never seen you scared."

"Babe, it's scary anytime I'm anywhere near your Grandma Mazur… and every time I think you're in danger."

"Hmm."

"Night, Babe."

"Night, Batman."

They lay in their comfortable embrace for a moment. Ranger was drawing lazy circles on her arm.

"Babe, I almost forgot. I have something for you."

"It's alright; you can give it to me tomorrow. What is it?"

"No, I want you have it now. I have to leave early in the morning, and I want you to sleep in. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for you."

Stephanie slowly sat up as Ranger turned the light back on, got out of bed and started digging through his duffle bag. "Okay, what is it?"

He pulled out a small black velvet box, came back to bed, and handed it to her. "Open it."

"Ranger, you didn't have to get me anything. I've been spending your money like crazy the last two days. What is this?"

"Just open it."

Stephanie slowly opened the box. Inside was a small heart locket on a silver chain.

"Ranger, it's beautiful… but why?"

"Open the locket."

She opened the locket and inside was a tiny picture of a beautiful little boy. Dark hair, brown eyes.

"Is this you?" she giggled. "You were so cute."

"This is your son. I thought the locket would be an appropriate prop for your cover. Mothers like this kind of stuff right?" He was so full of pride at presenting her with the necklace, Stephanie couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, they do. It's perfect. Thank you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Oh, I have one more thing for you, too." He went back to the duffle and retrieved a small black and white patterned shopping bag with handles. When he returned to the bed, Stephanie noticed that it was from Sak's.

"Now what have you done?" she said suspiciously.

"I asked Ella, and she said you would never be able to find this in Trenton. So I had it sent by overnight courier from New York."

Stephanie opened the bag and pulled out a bottle of Black Orchid perfume. Her eyes got big.

"She was right. I couldn't get this in Trenton. I was going to shop around tomorrow here in Philadelphia. I figured they would carry it at one of the finer department stores downtown." She opened the bottle and sprayed some on her wrist. She gave her wrist a few waves to help it dry and then smelled it. "Mmmm, it's wonderful. I know why Marissa picked it." She held up her wrist for Ranger to smell.

"It's nice."

"Nice!" she chortled. "At $1200.00 an ounce, it should be more than just nice. It should be positively orgasmic!"

"Babe, I like your smell better." Stephanie was charmed by his sincerity.

"Well, as of right now, it's Maria's signature scent."

"Maria?" Ranger questioned

"That's my name on this assignment. So you are now officially spending the night with Maria, not Stephanie."

"No, I'm spending the night with Babe." He leaned over and gave her a light kiss. "You can be Maria for everyone else, but to me you are always Babe."

Stephanie really had no response to that. She just smiled. She put the perfume and the necklace on the bedside table, and Ranger turned out the light. "Let's get some sleep."

"Night again, Babe."

"Goodnight, Ranger. Thank you. I love my presents."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

Author Note: Many thanks for the positive and plentiful reviews. I enjoy sharing this story with you.


	6. Chapter 6

All the characters belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 6**

It was very early the next morning when Ranger leaned over Stephanie and kissed her forehead. "Babe, I have to leave."

Stephanie came to consciousness reluctantly, but perked up when she smelled the warm scented moisture coming from his skin. "Mmmm, you brought your shower gel, you smell good." She reached a hand up to touch his cheek. "You know that's _your_ signature scent, don't you?" She lazily stretched. "What time is it?"

Ranger grinned. "It's early, before six. I want you to get some more sleep before you have to go to rehearsal. I'll be back this evening."

"How are you getting back to Trenton? You drove up here in my _beautiful _car." Stephanie still couldn't help but smile every time she thought of that car.

"Hal and Woody are outside. They came up in two cars. I'm taking one back. They are assigned to you until 2:00. After that, Bobby and Lester will be here." Ranger noticed the 'I don't need babysitters' look on her face. "Don't worry; you won't even know they're around."

Stephanie humphed.

"This assignment has officially begun, and you will always be protected. Don't fight me on this, Babe. Let me do my job."

"Alright, alright," she said holding her hands up in surrender. "I have rehearsal with the band at Dino's at 10:00. After that I guess I'll be hanging around this house, all by myself, working myself into another panic attack." She was hoping that the guilt trip would result in his returning sooner.

"After rehearsal, I want you to relax. I had Ella book you an appointment at a local spa. The details and instructions are on the kitchen counter next to the donuts."

"Donuts! Ranger, what has happened to your sense of my well-being? You have _so _totally gone soft."

Ranger chuckled "I don't know, Babe, you just have that effect on me lately. I can't explain it."

We definitely have to talk about this later, Batman. Go save the world. Don't get shot."

"Don't go crazy." He kissed her and left.

Stephanie woke again around 8:30. She lay in bed thinking about what the day would be like. She was nervous about singing, but the rehearsals had gone well. Sally was happy. Maybe it would be okay. Her biggest concern was still being able to make contact with Andrew Sullivan and being able to sustain a relationship with him that would allow her to get the information needed. Ranger seemed to have enough faith in her for the both of them, so she decided it would be best to go about her day, focus on the goal, and hope for the best. She showered, dressed in a pair of designer jeans, a fitted blue blouse, a pair of low heels, and went downstairs. After a few minutes, she figured out how to make coffee in the fancy coffee maker. While she waited for it to perk, she picked up the information about her spa day that Ranger had Ella arrange. The brochure was quite elegant, and the services provided by the spa were endless. The note attached said that she was to pick any services she wanted. No limit. It even included lunch. Stephanie was giddy at the prospects of what awaited her this afternoon. She had a cup of coffee, a couple of donuts, and headed to the garage for her beautiful new car. As Ranger promised, there was a child's car seat fastened in the back.

Stephanie arrived at Dino's just shortly before 10:00. Sally and the band were already setting up the equipment and fine-tuning some of the musical details.

"Stephanie, damn this is going to be fun tonight. The guys are really fucking happy to do this gig. We're really getting into this whole cabaret shit. It's kind of fun, and if we can add a few more numbers to our repertoire we could fuckin' add some gigs to our schedule doing this music."

"That's great, Sally. I've always thought this music is fun to perform, and if the attendance at this place the other night is any indication, there is certainly an audience for it." She looked around. "Is everyone here? Are we ready to rehearse?"

"Yeah, I pulled up this fuckin' stool for your first number, like we discussed. Shit, did you bring the cape so you could practice with it?"

"I have it. It's back in the dressing room. I also brought the shoes so I could get used to walking around the room in them like I will with the second number. I don't want to land on my ass."

"You're going to be fucking perfect. Don't worry about shit. Let's do this."

Once the band was ready and Stephanie had retrieved her costume pieces, they rehearsed and, once again, the details (now that they were actually on stage) were tedious. All in all, Stephanie was very pleased with the results. Her confidence level climbed, and she relaxed a little. Once she relaxed, the rehearsal went even better. Sally noticed it right away.

"Stephanie, you are fuckin' blowing me away here. You sound better than you did yesterday. And yesterday you were the fuckin' shit."

"Well, if that means I'm good, then thanks. Hopefully when this room is full of people tonight, I'll feel just as confident as I do right now. This is really important to me, Sally. I don't want to mess this up."

"Honey, I don't think anyone will be disappointed tonight."

The rehearsal ended just before noon. Stephanie gathered her things and left Dino's to head over to the spa. GPS is a wonderful thing, she thought. She just punched in the address, and the car told her where to go.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX...

The spa was incredible. Stephanie started with a champagne lunch of grilled Chilean sea bass with tropical salsa, Mediterranean citrus rice, and spiced carrots. Her spa treatments included a deep cleansing facial, a hydrating body polish, an aromatherapy body and scalp massage, an herbal foot treatment, an eyebrow, leg and bikini wax (because a Brazilian wax would just be wrong), and she finished up her day with a French seaweed manicure with silk wrap set and a hot stone pedicure and polish. She was treated like royalty by the entire staff. By the time she left the spa it was after 5:30; she felt like a million dollars, and she looked pretty damn good too. She wanted to be at Dino's by 7:30 in order to have plenty of time to do her make-up, hair and get dressed. She called Ranger.

"Yo."

"Yo, yourself. Where are you right now?"

"I'm just leaving Haywood. I was coming your way to give you ride to Dino's."

"That's perfect. Are you driving the Turbo?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well since we can't ride to the restaurant in my beautiful car, I guess the Turbo will be an acceptable alternative." Stephanie actually adored riding in Ranger's Porsche Turbo, and he knew it, too. The way the buttery soft leather seat cradled her, the smooth ride, the gentle vibration of the powerful engine, Ranger's smell...hmmm. "I just left the spa, and I feel wonderful."

"No, nerves?"

"I left all my nerves on the table. They were massaged right out of me. It was amazing. You have me totally spoiled."

"You deserve it."

"You may change your mind about that later."

"Not a chance, Babe."

"I'll meet you at the house, Ranger. Bye."

When Stephanie returned to the house, she quickly made up a tray of light snacks from the refrigerator for her and Ranger to nibble on before they had to leave. Then she retrieved her garment bag from her car and added the glitzy gown, her lingerie and stockings. She packed a bag of hair products, combs and pins and another bag of make-up. She gathered all her things together on the bed and returned to the kitchen just as Ranger was coming through the door. Stephanie was so glad to see him that she practically ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. She drew his face to hers and kissed him. He responded.

"I've had such a lovely day, Ranger. The rehearsal went well, the spa was…. well the spa was like nothing I have ever experienced before. They wouldn't tell me, but I'm sure it cost a fortune. They treated me like a movie star. Oh god, Ranger, the things they did to my body. It was pure bliss."

"If it means getting kissed like that, I will gladly send you to a spa everyday," he chuckled.

"I think I'm ready for tonight. I feel really good about it."

"Did the spa do that?"

"No. The spa made me feel physically wonderful, but you made me feel better up here." Stephanie pointed to her head. "I had a lot of time today to think about all the things you said to me yesterday, and I've decided that maybe you see me better than I see myself. The way I view myself is all cluttered up with the negative criticism I get from other people in my life. So I've decided to give myself a break and have a little more faith in my own abilities."

"Babe." He leaned in and kissed her again, then poised her face just inches from his and held her gaze. "I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah? Well your job, mister," she lectured, while poking him in the chest, "is to smack me upside the head the next time I decide to hold a pity party for myself. Got it?"

"I'll pass on the 'smacking up side the head' part, but I got it. I'm sure I could find other ways to punish you though," he teased suggestively. "I am a professional you know."

"I know exactly what you're capable of." She returned the tease. "Are you hungry? I put a little something together in the kitchen for us; and before you cringe...I didn't cook any of it! I just assembled what Ella left us in the refrigerator. We have to leave in less than half an hour. I have a lot to do before I go on stage at 9:00. Is that all right?"

"I'm on your schedule, Babe. Let me take a quick shower, change, and I'll be right back down."

True to his word, Ranger was back down in less than fifteen minutes. He looked positively delicious in a pair of gray dress slacks and a black button up silk shirt. This was Dressy Casual Ranger at his finest. They nibbled on finger sandwiches, fruit and raw vegetables with dip. Stephanie briefly thought about eating a piece of chocolate cake, but finally decided that the butterflies in her stomach would consider the intrusion hostile. Cake would be better after the show.

Ranger loaded up Stephanie's things into the Turbo and they headed off to Dino's. As Ranger pulled up to the back entrance of the restaurant, Stephanie looked at him in question.

"Why are we back here?"

"This is the employee's entrance. Less chance of our mark seeing us together from back here. He always has dinner first. I spoke to Lester when I got out of the shower, Sullivan is already here."

"Oh, good idea."

"That's why I'm the boss. I have lots of good ideas. You should remember that."

"Okay, boss, I'll remember that." She gave him a slight grin, and then she looked out the window towards the restaurant and sighed. "I guess this is it. Will you be inside later?"

"Wouldn't miss it." He leaned across her and opened his glove box. "This is your wire and a roll of tape. You know what to do."

"Yes, but I'll miss having you put it on for me. You always do it just right." She was playing the game again.

"I'll be there to take it all off, I promise." He was playing too...and winning again.

"I'm going to hold you to that promise."

Ranger leaned in. "Go get 'em, tiger." Then he kissed her.

The kiss was different. Stephanie felt as it began, it contained a little concern for her safety and a little wish for luck, but it transformed quickly and ended with a lot of passion. It had been a while since he had kissed her like that. When they finally separated, Stephanie got out of the car and was slightly unsteady on her feet, still dizzy from the kiss. She took a deep breath, grabbed her bags from the back, and disappeared through the door. It was time to get to work.

Stephanie found her way to the dressing room and was shocked to find Lula waiting for her.

"Lula, what are you doing here?"

"White girl, you know you can't get that dress on without help. What were you going to do, ask Sally?"

"Well…."

"Un huh. That's just what I thought. You didn't have no plan for tha,t did you? It's a good thing you got me coverin' your ass, girl. You'd be lost without me. I drove all the way up here to help you out. B'sides, I couldn't miss your show, girlfriend."

"I am glad you're here, Lula. I could really use your help. I hadn't thought about needing help with the dress."

"And your hair. You know you white Jersey girls know nothing about professional hair. You all about big puffy hair. Well, give me those bags and let's get started."

Stephanie and Lula spent the next hour doing hair and make-up. Lula was a big help. Stephanie's hair looked great. Sally stopped by at one point to make sure she was on schedule. Stephanie pulled a picture of Andrew Sullivan from her purse, gave it to Sally, and asked him to check the audience. She wanted confirmation that he was there and a general idea of where he was sitting. Sally returned, confirming that Sullivan was in the audience and could be found at a table near the 'fucking' stage on the left side of the room. Sally left to finish setting up with the band. Stephanie was mentally walking herself through her plan, when an idea struck her.

"Lula, how would you like to play a very important role in my distraction tonight? Tank will probably be out there, he'll be surprised to see you, and he might get angry that you're part of this, so if you don't want to do this, just tell me no."

"Honey, I am ready, just tell me what you need. This is great. I always hear you talk about this stuff, but I never seen you at work. Don't you worry bout Tanky. If he gets mad, he'll get all huffy and yell about it, then the make-up sex will blow his mind. What should I do?"

Stephanie spent the next couple of minutes going over her plan with Lula. Lula was so excited to help, she was about to burst.

"Now remember, Lula, if you have to use my name at all, its Maria Granger. Got it?"

"Sure, sure, I got it, Maria." Lula rolled her eyes.

"Wow, it's 8:40, help me into this dress."

Lula carefully lifted the dress over Stephanie's perfect hair and let the dress drop into place. In a few minutes they had all her parts stuffed into the right places and Lula zipped it up.

"Thanks, Lula." Stephanie checked her hair one more time, put on her jewelry and was ready.

Right before leaving the dressing room Stephanie slipped the wireless mic beneath her left breast under her costume and Lula handed her tape to hold it in place. They left the dressing room and headed toward the stage.

"Lula, can you peek into the crowd and let me know if the guys are picking up my sound? I am too nervous to look at the audience. I'll turn it on and ask them to give me a signal."

Lula peered around the side of the stage. Stephanie turned on the mic and spoke "Looking for a mic check confirmation, boys. If you can hear me…uh… scratch your head."

Lula giggled as she counted five Merry Men all scratching their heads. It was kind of comical. "Huh," she grunted. "Either those boys can hear you, or else they're all allergic to Tank's cats." She turned around and gave Stephanie the thumbs up.

Stephanie nodded. "Okay, gentlemen, it's show time."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx…


	7. Chapter 7

This is the chapter from which Scent of a Woman began. I originally intended to write a one shot based on a distraction. After it was written, my mind kept coming up with storylines that led up to and followed this event. Now 18 chapters later, I'm still not done with it. I love the journey and hopefully you do, too.

All Janet's, all the time. Nothing in it for me, except fun.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 7**

Stephanie signaled the stage manager that she was ready. The house lights went down, and the stage lights went out. The audience hushed. She took a deep breath, walked to her place on the darkened stage and positioned herself on a stool front and center. She was wearing a full-length, black satin, loosely hooded cape. She'd been fitted with a wireless headset so she would not have to hold a microphone. Stephanie wanted the first song to be dramatic and demand attention in an under-stated way. The whole lounge was darkened, and the only light in the room was to be a spot on her that slowly brightened during the first five lines of the song. Her voice would start small and in the dark, then would build during the song to a powerful finish. It was time to channel her inner Barbra Streisand. Sally and the boys began to play. Stephanie waited for her music cue and began to sing.

Oh my man I love him so

He'll never know

All my life is just despair

But I don't care

When he takes me in his arms

The world is quite all right

What's the difference if I say

I'll go away

When I know I'll come back on my knees someday

For whatever my man is

I am his

Forever more

Oh, it cost me a lot

But there's one thing that I've got

It's my man

Cold and wet, tired you bet

But all that I'll soon forget

With my man

He's all that in looks*

And a hero out of books

Is my man

Two or three girls has he

That he likes as well as me

But I love him

Oh my man I love him so

He'll never know

All my life is just despair

But I don't care

When he takes me in his arms

The world is quite all right

What's the difference if I say

I'll go away

When I know I'll come back on my knees someday

For whatever my man is

I am his

Forever more

The audience burst into enthusiastic applause as she ended the song, and Stephanie felt much better. She had the first part of her act under her belt, and her butterflies under control. With the room being dark and a spot just on her, she was unable to see the any of the audience, and that helped. She also kept her thoughts on Ranger as she belted out the words. It allowed her to make the song feel very intimate, and with him in the audience she imagined she was delivering it just to him. She was afraid to see his face and was relieved when the jazzy music for her second number began as the audience settled. Stephanie discretely released the clasp of the black hooded cape and allowed it to drop to the floor behind the stool as she stood. Underneath she had on the glitzy gold sequined dress that had spaghetti straps, a deep cleavage, and almost no back. It was fitted all the way down to her hips where it split into several narrow panels, of the same sequined fabric, that ended just above her knees. When she walked, her legs sporting rhinestone studded thigh high stockings would appear and then hide behind the split panels. She now had to channel her inner Brenda. The second song had to be delivered with spice and attitude, and success was totally dependant on good audience participation.

When the house lights went up, she took a good look around at the make-up of the audience and noticed several men…several, large, gorgeous Merry Men. They were everywhere. _Oh great,_ she thought to herself. _So much for anonymity…well Stephanie,_ she silently mused, _you had better make the most of it. Maybe you could make some of them feel a little exposed and uncomfortable_. The wheels were turning. She stepped off the stage and, with a saucy grin, moved through the crowd as she began to sing….

The minute you walked in the joint

I could see you were a man of distinction

A real big spender

Good lookin' so refined

Say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind

But let me get right to the point

I don't pop my cork for every man I see

Hey big spender

Spend a little time with me

Wouldn't you like to have fun, fun, fun

How's about a few laughs

I could show you a good time

Let me show you a good time

The minute you walked in the joint

I could see you were a man of distinction

A real big spender

Good lookin' so refined

Say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind

But let me get right to the point

I don't pop my cork for every man I see

Hey big spender

Hey big spender

Hey big spender

Spend a little time with me

During her performance she singled out several Merry Men to flirt with, rub up against, tease, and otherwise shamelessly provoke. She even approached Ranger and gave him one of her best moves, running her hands seductively around his shoulders and dropping them over and down his chest from behind, while singing right into his ear. She picked on Cal, with a little bump and grind, and Hal, who turned five different shades of red when she winked at him as she sang to him that she could 'show him a good time'. She even coyly approached Lester and teasingly lifted his dropped jaw from the floor. He winked at her, and she knew things were going well. It was actually kind of fun. For the final refrain, she zeroed in on the target, Andrew Sullivan. She made sure she was right there at his table as she neared the end of the song and shimmied her body down and back up against him from behind. At the last minute she swung around, straddled his lap, and with one hand, grasped his tie and sensuously pulled it from the knot bringing his face to within inches of hers as the song ended. The lights went out for a brief moment after the final note. The lights came back up and thunderous applause, whistles, and cat calls, filled the room. Several of the Merry Men were looking a bit dazed. Stephanie acknowledged the accolades from her position on Andrew Sullivan's lap with nods toward the audience, but intentionally kept her contact with Sullivan. The applause eventually died down. Waitresses resumed their serving.

Stephanie leaned into Andrew's ear, making sure he got a good whiff of her perfume, and whispered. "Thank you for being such a good sport. I hope I didn't embarrass you!"

"No, not at all Miss….."

"Granger, I'm sorry, my name is Maria Granger." Stephanie said as she sat back, patted his tie flat against his chest again, and extended her hand.

"Well, Miss Granger, you were wonderful." He took her hand and held it a bit longer than would normally be considered just friendly. He couldn't take his eyes off hers.

"Please call me Maria, Mr. ….."

"Sullivan, Andrew Sullivan."

"Okay, Mr. Sullivan, tell me what you're drinking, and I'll have the bartender send over another one on me, you were really great during my performance, and I'd like to show my appreciation." Stephanie stood from his lap and turned to leave, but he slid his hand to her wrist and gripped it gently.

"Please stay, Maria, join me for that drink… and call me Andrew." He looked directly into her eyes with a warm and sincere look.

"Alright…Andrew." She took a seat in the chair next to him that he quickly offered her. She removed her headset and casually fluffed her hair. He summoned the waitress over and ordered a scotch for himself and looked to Stephanie questioningly for her own drink choice. "Oh… I'll have a margarita, thank you."

Stephanie was glad that her attempts to get his attention had been successful so far. Now she was counting on Lula to push things along. She didn't have time to let Ranger, or the team, know of Lula's involvement in the "distraction", and, in a few moments, that part of her plan would come through the door. She just wished she had an earpiece to hear the reactions of the Merry Men. Tank was going to be pissed at first, but Lula would be safely on her way home right after her performance, and her role was critical to getting this guy where she needed him.

"I've never seen you here before. I come here frequently for the cabaret shows, and I have never heard you perform before tonight. You're quite talented. I enjoyed your singing very much. Are you new here?"

"Yes…I mean no. I mean, I'm just filling in for a friend. She called me yesterday in a panic because she had to quickly leave town to see a "sick relative". She figured if she found her own replacement, she wouldn't get fired. I'm just here for the 9:00 show though; one of the other girls is filling in the rest of the night. This isn't something I normally do. I was very nervous. Could you tell?"

"You looked like you where born to be on that stage, Maria."

Stephanie smiled warmly at him. "Well, aren't you sweet for saying that." Just as if on cue, Lula approached the table.

"Girlfriend, I know we came here together, but I just got a call from my sugar, and he is back in town. You know he's been gone for two weeks, and I've been goin' crazy without him, so I'm outta here and on my way to get me some of that man's lovin'. Do you need to get home to Carlos? Cause I can drop you off on my way."

"No, Lula, Carlos is over at Lester's tonight. But you go on, I know how much you've missed Pierre. Don't worry about me. I can take a cab. Have fun this evening, and call me tomorrow. And, Lula…thanks for driving me here tonight."

"Okay, girl, you sure?"

"Yeah, Lula, really… go, go, go…and tell Pierre I said hi." Stephanie looked at Andrew hoping to get some kind of confirmation that it would be okay with him if she stuck around. He nodded slightly. Lula left.

"Carlos, is he your boyfriend?"

"No, my son… and Lester is my brother. They spend a lot of time together. I don't know what I would do without him. He's so good with Carlos, and he has always been there for me; even on my worst days."

"What about the father? Isn't he around?"

"I'm a widow." Stephanie pushed the words from her mouth, as if they were painful to say. Even though they weren't true, just the thought… She leaned back as the drinks arrived and were placed on the table.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound..."

"It's okay, Andrew. Don't worry about it." Stephanie was doing her best to control her surprisingly melancholy feelings and keep the conversation going. _Get a grip Steph this isn't a real story. _"Ric's been gone for four years. What about you? Do you have a wife waiting for you at home?" Stephanie nodded at the wedding ring on his left hand.

"Ah…. No my wife died four months ago in a car accident…along with my daughter." Stephanie, of course, already knew this but was truly affected by his apparent pain.

"Oh, Andrew, I'm so sorry. You must be devastated." She put her hand on his arm in comfort. "I know the pain can be unbearable."

"It is…. and it's a little too fresh." His still raw grief showing all too well, he threw the conversation back to her. "Tell me about your son."

Stephanie became very much the proud parent. "My son is beautiful. He'll be four years old in a couple of months. If I could bottle his stamina, there would never be another energy crisis. He looks just like his father, smooth brown skin, dark hair; chocolate eyes that make you melt every time you look into them. He acts just like his father, too. He's fearless, smart, loving, and hell on wheels. He's my whole world! I have a picture in my purse, but it's back in the dressing room."

"Being a single mother must be tough; do you work outside the home?"

"No, not right now. Ric was very realistic about the dangers of his job and went to great lengths to make sure I would be well taken care of if he didn't make it home. Carlos and I are very comfortable. I am fortunate to be able to stay at home with him."

"What kind of job did your husband have that was so dangerous?"

"He was military, Special Forces. He died oversees. I don't have a lot of details, top secret, national security, need to know, and all that. I wasn't even told _where_ he died. In the end, I guess, the details don't matter as much as the fact that he is never coming home. He will never know his beautiful son."

Andrew took her hand. "I'm sorry you have to go through this. It's a terrible thing losing someone you love so much."

Stephanie was glad that she could not see Ranger from where she sat. Speaking of him this way was really hard. "It's funny; when we met, it took forever to get him to ask me out. I was crazy about him, but he didn't _do_ relationships. He flirted shamelessly, but always kept a safe emotional distance. I understand his reasons better now, but if I could talk to him one more time, I would tell him that having him in my life, for the short time we were together, was worth any amount of pain I've endured since he's been gone. We were so good together, I mean really good. We were only married a year before he was called to duty."

"I'm sure he was very proud of his son."

"Because of the secrecy of his missions, I had no contact with him once he left. I was pregnant with Carlos when Ric died. He never knew." Stephanie drifted off wistfully at the end of this last sentence. She was having trouble maintaining her role and thinking about Ranger being dead at the same time, but she quickly recovered and continued "Some days I take a trip to "denial land" and I convince myself that he is just "in the wind", and, one day, he will walk through the door, we'll be together, and he will never leave again. Those are my loneliest days…you know what I mean?"

"Yes…. I do know." Andrew's thoughts were far away for a moment, and then he quickly returned to the present. "If he was so adamant about not having a relationship, how did you change his mind, Maria? How did you end up getting him to marry you?"

"Well, that is a very personal question, Andrew. I'm not sure I'm ready to divulge that little secret. A girl has to maintain a certain amount of mystery," Steph said, playfully.

"You are a very beautiful and talented woman. I am sure his "relationship issues" were no match for your charms."

"You'd be surprised. He was a very stubborn man!" Stephanie looked embarrassed. "Oh, my god, Andrew, I've gone on and on, and you've been such a patient listener. Let's change this sullen mood, okay? The band is playing now. Will you dance with me?"

"Absolutely, Maria, please…" Andrew reached his hand toward Stephanie, and they took to the dance floor. They continued with their conversation while dancing through two songs. Stephanie was able to occasionally steal glances at Ranger; his darkened eyes never left her. There was a tap on Andrew's shoulder.

"May I cut in?" Andrew looked disappointed at the interruption by the man, but glanced at Stephanie to see if she was comfortable with the request.

"It's okay, Andrew." she nodded.

"Don't worry, bud. Just one dance okay? I'll return her to you without a scratch." Andrew nodded, stepped aside, and reluctantly returned to the table to wait.

"Les, is something wrong?" Stephanie asked with concern as they began their dance. The band was playing slow, romantic dance music, so Les pulled her in close, and they were able to converse covertly without drawing too much attention.

"No, Beautiful, not a thing. Although, we almost shit when Lula appeared. We thought she would blow your cover until we realized she was in on it. I don't know if Tank wants to spank her or kiss her," he chuckled. "I cut in here, because I just thought our boy over there could use a little push in the right direction to move this along. A little competition, or jealousy, can make a man see things a little more clearly." Stephanie thought to herself that, although she knew Lester was talking about Andrew, he could very well be talking about her situation with Ranger. "And by the way, where in the hell have you been hiding that little talent of yours?"

"What little talent?" she responded coyly.

"That voice! Damn, Beautiful, you have us all stunned. That was some show!" Lester's face was beaming with pride.

"Oh that…well the voice comes from lessons courtesy of a proper Burg upbringing, and that little act was courtesy of my good friend and his band. Believe me, I won't be quitting my day job to take the show on the road." She looked around the room again. "Speaking of my day job…isn't this a little overkill tonight?"

"Isn't what a little overkill?"

"Come on, Les, I count at least twelve Merry Men in here tonight, and those are just the ones I can see. I thought Ranger only scheduled four."

"Oh, them. Well, the rest are not exactly on duty."

"Well then what exactly _are_ they doing here, Les?"

"Oh come on, Beautiful. When the word got out that you were going to be singing with a band, there was no way anyone wanted to miss it. They're here to see you!"

"Who's left at RangeMan then?"

"Max, Binkie and Vince drew the short straws. We also owe them each a case of beer. Ranger had to bring in a few contract workers as well."

"This is just great! You guys actually drew straws? Unbelievable! I thought since this was located out of state, I could get this done without much embarrassment."

"I don't think so, Steph. I'm pretty sure Hector recorded the whole thing. He's probably uploaded the entire performance to YouTube already. And what's there to be embarrassed about? You were great!"

"Damn It, Les, is Hector wired? Can he hear me?"

"No, just the five of us can hear your wire. Relax, I'm just kidding. Can't a brother tease his favorite sister?" Lester smirked and gave Stephanie that adorable little boy look that she could never resist. "Hey, Woody even brought a date!"

"A date!" Stephanie was a little stunned. Most of Ranger's men didn't date very often. They were all gorgeous, but tended to be rather intimidating at first impressions.

"Yeah, take a look over my shoulder, small table towards the back."

Stephanie picked up her head and looked over Les's shoulder. "Oh my god, is that Connie?"

"Mmmhmm."

"How?….I mean when?…."

"Ranger put Woody in charge of picking up the FTA files for RangeMan everyday since we've all been busy with this case. They hit it off right away. He thinks she's cute."

"Hunh, well I'll be. Is there anybody left in Trenton this evening? My Grandma Mazur isn't here is she?"

"No, that's about it."

Stephanie took a cleansing breath. She needed to calm down and return her attention to the job. "Okay, how are you going to make our friend, Andrew, over there jealous?"

"Easy, Beautiful. I am going to do something here in a minute to make you very angry, and I want you to react honestly, and let me have it. No holding back. Okay?"

"Okay, are you sure?"

"Oh yeah, we just need to move a little closer to your table so he doesn't miss a thing. Remember the goal here is to get him to take you home. Do me a favor and just don't let him get too friendly. Bobby, Cal, Tank and I will be following you, and Ranger will be at the safe house ahead of you. He's going to leave in a few minutes. Are you ready?"

"Yes, as ready as I'll ever be. I'm not too worried. He seems harmless enough."

"That's what we're counting on, Beautiful. Good luck and be careful!" By this point in the conversation Lester had skillfully lead them closer to Andrew's table, and without hesitation, he grabbed Stephanie in a tight, full body hold and kissed her roughly.

"What the…" Stephanie's initial shock quickly faded, and she was all business. She pushed Lester back forcefully and slapped him hard against the cheek with forced indignation on her face. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Perfect, Beautiful." He whispered. "It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. I think we pushed the right buttons, because here he comes. He's all yours."

Andrew rushed up to Lester, angrily grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around, and punched him in the face. It was laughable to think that someone could knock around any of the Merry Men, but Lester convincingly feigned injury and stumbled back.

"Andrew! Stop. It's okay; he's a little drunk and just got a bit too friendly, that's all. Really, I'm all right." Stephanie grabbed Andrew's hand and tried to lead him away. "I think I should go home, though. Could you call me a cab?" Stephanie was playing the damsel in distress role and was counting on Andrew's chivalrous nature to get the desired result. They left Lester standing with his hand rubbing his chin. Andrew gathered Stephanie in a protective embrace and returned her to their table.

"Maria, did he hurt you? I am so sorry. I should have never let him near you." Andrew was visibly upset, and his concern for Stephanie was actually quite touching.

"I'm alright, Andrew. He really was just a drunk jerk. I'll be fine. Thank you for…. for everything, but it's getting late, and I would like to go home."

"Maria, would you mind if I took you home? I would feel much better knowing that you made it there safely after what just happened." He looked very sincere, and Stephanie knew she had him. _Bingo!_

"Yes, Andrew, I would like that. Are you sure it won't be an inconvenience to you?"

"Absolutely not! I insist. It's the very least I can do to repay you for your wonderful company this evening."

"Okay, if you're sure. Would you mind if I go back to my dressing room to change and pick up my things?"

"I'll be right here waiting for you, take your time."

"I won't take long, I promise." Stephanie headed towards the dressing room noting that Bobby and Cal were casually moving toward the door, presumably to get into position outside in their car. Ranger was gone. Tank and Lester would remain in the lounge until Stephanie and Andrew left, and then they would follow. She quickly changed back into the emerald green two-piece chiffon dress that matched her eyes and set off the color of her auburn hair beautifully. It had a flirty skirt, but the top was still conservative with a cowl neckline that dropped low enough to reveal just a hint of cleavage. She took off the stockings, but put back on the magical FMP's and placed the locket Ranger had given her around her neck. She touched up her make-up, fluffed her hair, and spritzed on another hit of Black Orchid perfume. Finally, she gathered her things, thanked Sally Sweet and the band one last time for all their help, and returned to the table where Andrew was waiting. He stood immediately, offered to carry her bags, and guided Stephanie toward the door with his hand pressed to her lower back.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

Author Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was fun to write. I am so in love with writing Lester. I may have to do something about that in my next story.

If you want to hear a performance of Stephanie's two songs, I found: "My Man", by Barbra Streisand and "Big Spender" by Bette Midler or Shirley Bassey on youtube.

*Stephanie insisted on altering just a few words of the first song. She just couldn't say "He's not much for looks and no hero out of books is my man." It just didn't work when she's thinking about Ranger! So I listened to her... and rewrote them accordingly.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter. Hope you enjoy this one as Steph and Ranger continue the evening.

Janet Evanovich is the queen of Stephanie Plum land and owns all the royalties.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 8**

Once outside and in Andrew's car, Stephanie gave him the safe house address, and he punched it into the GPS on his dash. It would take about fifteen minutes to get there. She was relieved she wouldn't need to verbally give the directions she had tried to memorize earlier. She was pretty sure that Tank and Lester were still close enough to pick up her signal from the wireless mic, but Ranger was probably out of range. She needed to keep up some kind of conversation so they would not worry about what was happening.

"Andrew, I 'm embarrassed about how I went on and on this evening with the details of my life. I've never felt so instantly connected to someone before. I've shared things with you tonight that I have never shared with anyone. I'm sorry if it has resurfaced some of your own sad memories."

"Maria, don't be embarrassed. I'm flattered that you felt comfortable enough with me to share those things. Maybe it's easier to say things like that to a complete stranger; someone who may not judge you so quickly."

"Perhaps…, but I believe I've made you very sad."

"Maybe it's my own sadness that makes it easier for you to share with me as well. What's the old saying? Misery loves company? The memories you have resurrected in me tonight may make me sad, but I loved my wife and daughter, and I would never want to forget that either. I come to the cabaret nights at Dino's to forget for a while. I guess you could say that it is my own vacation to "denial land" as you put it. But tonight, I met a beautiful lady who showed me that the good memories should be cherished and not forgotten."

This was getting to be very difficult for Stephanie. Until now, all of her distraction jobs had been to remove despicable criminals from the streets. They were typically very shallow, unsavory people, and she used shallow and morally loose characters to lure them to capture, with no guilt whatsoever. This was different. Here was a man who was in obvious pain for the loss of his beloved family, and she felt as if she was denigrating his memories by deceiving him with claims to have experienced the same thing. Taking advantage of his grief felt shameful, and it bothered her. She could only hope that in the end he would be able to forgive what she had done in order to bring the real criminal to justice. Stephanie was brought out of her thoughts by their arrival at her "safe" house.

Andrew parked in the driveway, exited the car, and, while Stephanie was rummaging through her purse to find the key, he appeared at her side of the car to help her out. They retrieved her bags from the back seat and walked to the front door.

"Andrew, I can't tell you how grateful I am to have met you this evening. You've been a perfect gentleman, and I had a wonderful time. It's been a long time since I've spent an evening out with a man."

"Maria, I would like to see you again, if it's alright with you."

Stephanie smiled up at him. "I'd like that, too."

"How about I take you to dinner Saturday night? There is a lovely restaurant not too far from here that I haven't been to in a long time. I think you would enjoy it. Do you like Italian food?"

_Do I like Italian food! Are you kidding? Is the Pope Catholic?_ "That sounds great. Let me give you my number. Hand me your cell phone, and I'll type it in. What time should I be ready?"

"Is seven okay?"

"Seven would be fine." Andrew handed over his phone, and Stephanie dialed in her number, pushed send, and, when her own phone rang, she opened it and closed it. "Now I have your number, too!" She smiled and gave Andrew a quick kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, and thank you for bringing me home." She put the key in the lock, opened the door, took her bags from Andrew, and disappeared inside. Andrew returned to his car and drove away.

Stephanie leaned against the front door, for a moment, to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. She then laid her bags to the side and stumbled in the dark toward what she thought was the direction of the living room. She had only taken a couple of steps when she ran straight into a solid, warm, great smelling wall.

"Babe." The wall wrapped his arms around her.

"Ranger." Stephanie shuddered as his hands slowly slid up the front of her dress and approached her…wire. He carefully pulled the tape, removed the unit, and switched it off. Still holding her by her waist, he reached over, turned on a table lamp, pulled out his phone, punched a button, and spoke. "We're in for the night. Yeah, head on back to Trenton. I've got her covered." Stephanie wasn't finished being held, and she stepped back in to the embrace and hugged Ranger almost desperately. He seemed to understand her need and remained quiet, just holding her.

After a minute or so she finally spoke. "Ranger?"

"Yeah, Babe."

"Can we sit down? My feet are killing me. Did you see these shoes?"

"Oh, I saw them alright. I kinda like them. Very sexy."

Ranger picked her up and carried her to the couch. He sat Stephanie at the one end and turned her body by lifting her feet to rest in his lap as he sat next to her. Slowly he removed each shoe and began to massage her feet.

"Well, I hope you got a nice long look, because I will never wear them again. These things practically killed me tonight. The may be sexy as hell, and Sally did say they did nice things to my ass, but they are the most uncomfortable shoes I have ever worn."

"And your legs, Babe. They did nice things for your legs, too." Ranger was now moving his magic fingers from her feet up to her calves. Stephanie moaned in pleasure. "Babe, you were fantastic tonight. And if the reaction from my men is any indication, I'd say that you could expect at least eight marriage proposals by morning." Stephanie smiled. "You played everything perfectly. He likes you."

"We have a date Saturday."

"I know, that's very good."

"He's a nice man… so sad though." Ranger noticed Stephanie's thoughts start to drift and then suddenly, she tried to stand up. Ranger tightened his grip on her legs to stop her.

"Where are you going, Babe?"

"I thought I'd get something to drink."

"You stay here, I'll get it. What do you want?" She relaxed back into a cushion, and he stood up and set her legs back down on the couch.

"Wine, maybe?" Ranger nodded and walked away. Stephanie could hear cupboards opening and closing and other typical busy sounds as Ranger moved about the kitchen.

"I'll call Andrew tomorrow, thank him again for bringing me home, and get the name of the restaurant he's taking me to, so you can scope it out. I'll tell him I need to leave the information for the babysitter. You don't think I really hurt Lester when I hit him, do you?"

"He'll be fine."

"I don't know; I slapped him pretty hard."

"He's had worse." Ranger returned to the room with a tray of food, the wine, and two glasses.

"Ooooh, that looks wonderful!" Stephanie surveyed the tray of cheese, fruit, and the remaining sandwiches from their earlier dinner. "I didn't realize I was hungry until you brought that in here." He sat the tray on the table in front of the couch and poured the wine. He handed her a glass and lifted his in toast fashion.

"To you, Babe. You never disappoint." They touched their glasses together. Stephanie nodded and took a drink.

"Thanks, but I didn't do it alone. Did you notice the band?"

"Was that really Sally Sweet? He was wearing a suit! A man's suit!" Ranger was grinning as he took his seat again next to her on the couch.

Stephanie giggled and nodded, "I know, strange wasn't it? Really though Ranger, I couldn't have done this tonight without him. He put all the music together, made all the arrangements with the manager, and picked out my costumes. All in three days! He's a miracle worker. His whole band was great."

"I'll make sure they are well compensated."

"Thank you." Stephanie produced a little devilish grin. "What did you think of Lula?"

"We should have known about Lula, Babe." His tone was very serious. "I don't like surprises like that and neither does Tank."

"I know, I'm sorry, but I didn't expect her to be there either. She just showed up in the dressing room, and right before I went on stage, I realized that she could come in handy in securing my need for a ride home. So we went with it. She did a great job don't you think? And she was so excited to help, Ranger. If you could have seen her face…. How mad was Tank? Lula thought he would be mad, but that he'd get over it. She has plans to smooth things over…of course it involves lots of sex…and…" Stephanie was rambling her way through the explanation; Ranger put a finger up to her mouth to stop her.

"It's okay…I don't want to know any details. Eat something, Babe." He lifted the tray and held it in front of her. "You're right, Lula was great, and, once he got over the initial shock, Tank was rather amused and proud."

Stephanie selected a finger sandwich and ate it. "Proud?" she mumbled through her full mouth.

"You know how he feels about her, Babe, he was positively beaming."

She swallowed and took a drink of her wine. "Do you think he'd let her work other distractions? You know, she would probably work out great for luring skips who aren't attracted to 'skinny assed white girls', as Lula so lovingly refers to me."

Ranger flat out laughed, he almost choked on his wine. "I think it would take a lot of sex to convince Tank of that. Tank doesn't share."

"It was just a thought." She took another sip of her wine. "What about you? Do you share?"

"Never." He leaned toward her and kissed her lips. As the kiss deepened, he took the wine glass from her hand and set it on the table without ever looking away. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped her tightly in his arms. "Dios, Babe. You were so wonderful tonight." He spoke against her lips, and then his mouth traveled down her neck. Stephanie leaned her head back to give him better access. "So good." He muttered against her neck. While his lips were busy on Stephanie's neck, his hands moved to the hem of her blouse. Slowly they rubbed in circles upwards under the chiffon fabric until they brushed the bottom of her breasts. Stephanie's skin was burning. She had wanted this so desperately, and now…

"Carlos…. Oh god, Carlos…Stop!" Stephanie pushed back from him. Ranger stopped. "Damn, I can't believe I just told you to stop." They were both breathing hard. Stephanie leaned her forehead against his. "Carlos, I'm sorry, I can't…oh my god…I want to do this with you…but…please."

"Babe, what's the matter?" Ranger looked concerned.

Stephanie wanted to make this right. She needed to explain. She grabbed the fabric of his shirt in both her hands and closed her eyes to think. She finally opened them and looked directly into his.

"You're sending me mixed messages here. I don't know what to think. You tell me that you want me…but that you shouldn't. You pull me in…and then push me away again. You touch me, and my whole body goes crazy. It responds to you like it has for no other man…and you tell me to find someone else. I'm so confused. I've tried so hard to put what we have into perspective. I trust you with my life, but my heart is drowning at the same time."

"Babe..."

Stephanie lifted a hand to stop him from speaking. "Carlos, Lula told me once, that you and I are just magic waiting to happen. I smiled when she said that, because that's exactly what I thought we were, last year, for that one night we were together. It was magic for me. The next day...you had regrets and were gone." She looked down into her lap. "You wanted me to go back to Joe. For a very long time, I fantasized that you would change your mind, and we could go back to being _magic_." She lifted her eyes to his. "But then I realized, Carlos, that magic isn't real. It's illusion…a trick to make you believe in something that isn't really there." Stephanie had tears in her eyes now. Her heart hurt, because it was so painful saying these things. "I want what we have to be real. I want us to do this because we feel something...more...for each other, not just to relive some lustful fantasy."

"Babe, the only regret I have about that night is that I let you go. I convinced myself that I was protecting you by leaving. I knew the history you had with Morelli. I knew he could offer you what I couldn't. If I had stayed, it would have killed me to love you and then lose you. But, Babe, I will never regret what we shared that night."

"Carlos, I'm not afraid of your life. I don't know the details of your government work, but I know it's dangerous. I'm not naïve; I was in a relationship with a cop! I have lived the reality of not knowing if someone you love is safe, if they're going to come home alive and unhurt, the loneliness of separation when assignments take them away for weeks or months at time. It wouldn't be easy, but I can handle all of that with you. What I can't handle is thinking that I disappointed you when we were together, or not knowing if you really want me in a way to risk opening your heart to me."

"Oh god, Babe, is that what you think? That I was disappointed that night? Oh, Steph, no…you were amazing…the whole night was amazing. I have never spent a night like that with anyone else." Ranger was desperately trying to make her see the truth. He held her face in his hands and met her eyes, brushing tears away with his thumbs. "Opening my heart is something I don't have a lot of experience with, but willing or not, I don't have a choice anymore, because it's already happening. I have fought this so hard, but you have become too important to me. I miss you when we're not together, and I think and worry about you all the time. I have no control over it, and that scares me."

"It scares me, too." Stephanie whispered to him. They were quiet for a long time, Stephanie lying against his chest, his arms around her. "You're staying here tonight?"

Ranger nodded.

The stress of the day, the emotional tenor of the evening, and Ranger's comforting hands were taking their toll on Stephanie. She yawned before nearly falling asleep. "Babe, it's been a long day. Why don't you go on up and get ready for bed. I'll clean things up down here and lock up."

"Okay, are you coming up, too?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes." She whispered. "Stay with me."

Stephanie took a quick shower, and, by the time she finished, Ranger was already in the bedroom. She slipped into one of the cute little satin pajama sets she had picked up at the mall and climbed into bed while Ranger finished up in the bathroom. He came out, turned off the lights, and snuggled her up into his arms. They lay quietly just enjoying the peace and thinking through the days events.

A deep chuckle broke the silence. "Babe?"

"Mmmhmm?" She sleepily replied.

"Your son's name is Carlos?"

"Yeeesss." That woke her up!

"And your husband was a very stubborn man who didn't _do_ relationships, but flirted shamelessly with you and kept an emotional distance, until he was overwhelmed by your feminine charms?"

"Yeeesss."

"He was in the military as part of a Special Forces outfit, died while serving overseas, and his name was Ric Granger?"

"Yeeesss."

"Trying to tell me something, Babe?"

"I don't know what you mean."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	9. Chapter 9

The Characters in this story are not mine. They are the sole property of Janet Evanovich. I get nothing but pleasure from them.

Okay, here's the thing. You're going to run into a few short stretches of Spanish conversation in this chapter. I studied German for 6 years in high school and college. And after all this time, I can still ask you if you are tired of practicing the violin, and if you like the sweater I gave you for your birthday. The only experience I have with Spanish, is the time I spent dating the Bolivian exchange student my senior year. So I have totally relied on a Google translator to write the dialogue. I apologize upfront if it is totally FUBAR, but I did supply the English translation in each dialogue line. You won't have to go to the bottom of the chapter to get the translation. Please read on and enjoy another unexpected day in the life of Stephanie Plum.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 9**

Stephanie awoke long before dawn to something nibbling her ear. She was dreaming of the time, last spring, when she had returned to Joe's house after recovering a skip. She had tracked down her latest FTA, Boomer Dubois, at his job at Miller's Meat Packing plant. Her plan was to wait outside the employee's designated smoking area and apprehend the skip during his break. When Boomer stepped outside, she immediately identified herself, in her typical non-threatening way, and Boomer panicked. He took off back inside the building leading Stephanie through a maze of hanging carcasses and flabbergasted employees. He then pushed through a set of swinging doors that led to a packing room. After dodging several more employees and rolling carts, Stephanie found herself on one side of a long conveyor belt and Boomer across from her on the other side. Freshly wrapped trays of ground beef rolled past them as the standoff continued. If she dodged left, he dodged right. It was a lose-lose situation either way she would go. It was obvious that there was only one way to get to her man, so Stephanie leaped over the belt in an attempt to grab him. Unfortunately she didn't entirely clear the conveyor, and, while she was able to grab hold of Boomer's shirt, the belt pulled her along. She refused to let go, and Boomer ended up being pulled onto the belt with her. Before she could right herself, the belt came to an end, and they were both unceremoniously dumped into a collection bin along with hundreds of pounds of ground beef. Undaunted, Stephanie quickly pulled her cuffs from her back pocket and secured them onto Boomers wrists. After another humiliating deposit at the Cop Station, Stephanie headed straight to Joe's for a shower and change. Her on-again off-again relationship with Joe was currently on again, and she had been living there for that last three weeks. When she opened the back door, Bob, part retriever-part Goofy, came galloping from the hall, took a flying leap and nailed her to the kitchen floor where he licked her enthusiastically.

"Bob, stop…. that tickles (giggle)…. please… get off me…(more giggling)…Bob…I mean it…" Stephanie was swiping at her ear.

"Babe?"

Stephanie slowly opened her eyes to find Ranger laying on top of her and looking not pleased. "What?"

"Who's Bob?"

"Bob?" She was still a little disoriented.

"You were calling his name while I was kissing you! Who's Bob?"

"Bob….Oh…Bob…Oh my gosh, I thought you were the dog!"

"Dog?"

"Yes, you know, Bob the dog."

"Morelli's dog?"

"Well he was my dog first, sort of…he just likes Joe better."

"You thought I was Morelli's dog, Bob?"

"Well, I was dreaming of the time he jumped all over me when I was covered in ground beef from the meat packing plant, and he wouldn't stop licking me…. and..."

"Babe, you're killing my ego here."

"I'm sorry, Ranger…don't stop…I don't think you're Bob anymore…here try again, it was nice." Stephanie pulled her hair aside enthusiastically revealing her neck in invitation.

"Mood's gone, Babe." He rolled off.

"No, really, don't stop. I…I…want you to." She tried to pull him back, but since she couldn't budge him, she changed tactics and climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. "Don't stop. Please." She leaned forward and kissed him briefly. "I'm sorry." She kissed him again. "You're a much better kisser than Bob." She giggled and kissed him again. This time though, Ranger kissed back. He pulled her closer and rolled them back so he was once again on top.

The kissing deepened, and soon all kinds of things were involved, tongues, hands, legs; it was frantic. Ranger pulled back slightly and Stephanie panicked. "Babe, slow down, I'm not going anywhere. I want to take my time with you." He hesitated for a moment. "Stephanie, we have never talked about protection. Do I need..."

"It's okay," She smiled as she cut his words off. "I'm covered. I mean...I've been on the pill for a long time now."

"Babe, I haven't been with a woman in a long time. When I was, I always used..."

"Carlos, I trust you. Make love to me. Please."

"Dios, Babe," he whispered against her lips. "He querido hacerte el amor otra vez duante tanto tiempo. Tengo que estar dentro de ti, sentirte, probarte, te amo." (God, Babe, I've wanted to make love to you again for so long. I have to be inside you, feel you, taste you, love you.)

His words were translated by his touches. She felt loved, worshipped, treasured. There was sincerity and desire in his eyes that could not be misinterpreted. It was right. It was time. It was complete. No part of her body was left untouched by his hands, his mouth, his breath; and every stroke…every thrust carried her to new pinnacles of sensation. What seemed like hours later, replete and exhausted, they slept again completely enveloped in each other's arms.

The next time Stephanie awoke, the autumn sun was streaming through the windows. The room was bathed in an orange-red glow reflecting in from the colorful trees just outside. She felt so safe and reassured when she realized that Ranger was still lying next to her.

"You're still here." She whispered to him as she brushed his silky hair from his face.

"Babe,"

"Carlos, I know you have to get back to Trenton this morning. Aren't you going to be late?"

"I needed to be here with you this morning. I needed you to know…." He gently rubbed her face, his eyes telling more than his words.

"I understand. Thank you for staying, it means a lot to me. Do you have to leave soon?"

"I called Tank earlier and told him to take the first meeting without me. By the way, I could hear Lula in the background, she sounded…forgiven." There was the slightest smile on his face. Stephanie giggled. "I don't have to be back in Trenton until noon. I told Tank I had some business to take care of here." Ranger's hands were gently caressing her breasts.

"But, Mr. Manoso," Stephanie whispered seductively. "I was already thoroughly debriefed last night."

His eyes got dark and his voice raspy. "Yes, but I'm afraid we may have forgotten a few details. We better go over everything again just to be sure." He was already kissing and nipping at her neck. His hands reading her like Braille. He didn't lie; his tactics were not gentle.

Late in the morning, Ranger departed for Trenton and said he would not be back in Philadelphia until Saturday. He had meetings all day and one of RangeMan's security clients was experiencing some nighttime vandalism, so Ranger had a team assembled to do surveillance of the property that night. Her Merry Men du jour were Hector and Hal.

Stephanie spent the early part of the afternoon going through her packet of information from Tank. She found some additional photos of her son Carlos, and even one of her and her husband Ric. She recognized the photo as one of her and Ranger taken at last year's RangeMan Christmas party. She had never seen this photo before, but remembered when it was taken.

_They were at Rossini's. Ranger had reserved the entire restaurant for the event. He had even brought in contract workers and employees from the Boston office so that everyone from the Trenton office could attend. Some of the Merry Men had brought dates, but Stephanie was in high demand as a dance partner. She hadn't danced so much in her life. It wasn't until late in the evening that Ranger had shown up. He spent some time working the room, greeting every one. Stephanie was sitting at a table with Tank, Lula, Bobby, Lester and his date Annie. Ranger approached the table and simply reached out his hand for her. She took I,t and he led her to the dance floor. It had been a several months since their night together and, whereas, their working relationship had continued with only minor tension between them, being held in his arms so closely, his smell, his breath on her neck…memories came springing back. Stephanie became flushed and nervous. The fact that she had been drinking champagne didn't help either. When the music ended, they slowly parted. Ranger put his hand at the small of her back and was just leading her back to the table, when someone snapped the picture. Stephanie was gazing up at his face. His face was looking forward toward their destination._

Looking at the picture now, it was obvious to her how she felt about this man even then. In this picture, however, it was not Ranger's face. A face that she did not recognize had been photo-shopped in. She made a note to ask Ranger about that later.

Since there was a possibility that Andrew would be coming into her house on Saturday, either before or after their dinner date, Stephanie decided she would personalize the place by purchasing some frames and placing the pictures around the living room. That meant shopping. But first she would shower, dress, and call Andrew.

"Hello."

"Andrew, it's Maria."

"Maria, good morning. I'm glad you called, are you alright?"

"Yes, Andrew, I'm fine. I wanted to thank you again for bringing me home last night. I had a great time with you."

"I enjoyed last night as well. Are we still on for dinner tomorrow?"

"Yes! I can't wait. Andrew, can I ask where we will be going? I like to leave as much information with the sitter as possible."

"I understand. The name of the restaurant is 'Maggio's' on Grand Avenue. I was also hoping that after dinner we could go dancing at a club downtown called 'La Habana'. Is that all right with you?"

"It sounds wonderful. I love to dance. This will be such a treat for me. I don't go out very often."

"Well, it will be special for both of us then, Maria, I have an appointment in a few minutes so I have to go. I'll pick you up at 7:00."

"Okay, Andrew, bye."

"Goodbye."

_Finally_, Steph thought as she hung up the phone, a man with phone manners. Earlier, she noticed that the small desk in the living room had a laptop with Internet access. She logged in and mapped out a good mall location. She also found the web site for the restaurant. From the pictures, it looked formal. That gave her a better idea of how to dress for the date. She called the control room and gave Junior the information about the restaurant and club. He said he would pass it onto Lester and Bobby. Stephanie then, locked up the house and pulled out of the garage in her beautiful car. She headed to the local mall where she purchased several frames that would work perfectly for her 'family' pictures. She thought about her sister Val's house and the things in it that reflected the fact that children lived there. She bought some magnets for the refrigerator, colorful child safe cups, plates and bowls, a dozen children's books and movies, and a few other items. Ella had done a great job of supplying the house with the basics, but just a few of these extra touches, Stephanie thought, would make the house look a little more lived in and believable.

She wanted to have some child drawings to hang on the refrigerator, so on her way back home she stopped at a dollar store, located in a small strip mall, to pick up some crayons, markers, and drawing paper. When she walked into the store, her spidey sense tingled like crazy. She could tell right away that something was wrong. The cashier, an older lady with short permed hair, looked rigid. The customer standing at the check out, a young woman, obviously several months pregnant, had a cart in front of her with a small child, maybe 2-years old, in the seat. Her face was terrified. There was a tall Latino boy standing unnaturally close to her, staring intensely at the cashier. The boy couldn't have been older than 19 or 20. The whole scene came into focus slowly, and Stephanie, having now processed all the signs, realized the threat was all too real. This was a robbery. She knew that Hector and Hal were probably less than 50 feet away in the parking lot, but would not be entering the store. Stephanie could hear sirens in the distance. The boy heard them, too.

"I want the money now, bitch!"

"I'm trying…" The cashier was panicked and could not get her hands to cooperate. "I can't get the drawer to open."

"Do it now, bitch, or I'll shoot you." He waved his gun at her. The sirens got closer, and everyone realized simultaneously that they were headed this way. "Did you set off some alarm?" he screamed at the cashier. She couldn't answer. She was frantically trying to get money out of the now open drawer. She shoved it at him. He grabbed the money and stuffed it into his pockets with one hand, never letting go of the gun. The sirens sounded so close now, they couldn't have been more than a block away. "Shit, I'm not going back to jail!" The boy snapped angrily. "You!" He pointed the gun at the pregnant woman. "You're comin' with me. You're goin' to get me out of here safe." He held the gun to her back.

Before she even realized it, Stephanie was speaking. "NO!" She shouted. The boy looked over his shoulder and noticed for the first time, that she was standing there. "Don't take her. Take me."

"What the fuck, bitch?"

"Take me instead. I'll make sure you get out of here, I promise. You can't take her… she's pregnant, she has a child. She'll slow you down. You can move faster with me. I'll make sure you get away." Stephanie was pleading with him. She couldn't let this woman and her child be put into danger.

"You have wheels?"

Stephanie just lifted her keys in answer. What she really wanted to say was, _Yeah, I got wheels, you idiot. My wheels come with a state of the art tracking system and two very angry bodyguards that will beat your ass to pulp for what you're doing. _But he didn't need to know that…yet.

The boy pushed his way past the pregnant woman and her cart, hurried over to Stephanie, and wrapped his arm around her waist bringing her back tightly against his chest, his gun clearly visible against her head. "Here's how we're goin' to do this, puta. We're goin' to move outside nice and slow. You don't say nothin', got it?" Stephanie nodded. "We walk to your car and open the driver's door. I'll pull you in behind me." Stephanie nodded again. "You drive, and you do as I say or I'll put a bullet in your ear."

"Got it."

The boy pulled his sweatshirt hood up over his head in order to conceal his identity as much as possible. They pushed out the store doors moving tightly together. Stephanie could feel the boy shaking with nerves. She felt surprisingly calm. She thought that maybe it was a sad commentary on her life that this didn't bother her more. She had been stalked, kidnapped and tortured by some sick bastards, but this was just a boy, a nervous, desperate boy. There was one blue and white sitting in the parking lot and one in the street, both with lights flashing. The police officers were slowly moving from their vehicles, hands on their guns watching the two of them cross the parking lot. Stephanie looked around and finally found the unmistakable black RangeMan SUV positioned near the entrance. She just shrugged her shoulders in their direction. The windows on Ranger's cars were always heavily tinted, but she knew Hector and Hal were there, and they could see her. She could only imagine that they were already in full alert mode. Hal would be calling control, Hector checking weapons. Both would be shaking their heads at another fine mess she seemed to have gotten herself into. _It's not my fault, sort of. _She wanted to yell at them.

Just as he had directed in the store, Stephanie unlocked the car with her key fob, and the boy climbed in with the gun pressed against her, and then she slid into the driver's seat. She started the car, looked at the boy and asked. "Where to?"

The boy was nervous. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to formulate some kind of plan. "I don't know, bitch, just drive and let me think. I can't think." He swore a few words in Spanish and waved the gun around in circles.

_Christ,_ Stephanie thought. _I'm going to have to walk this kid through this. _She knew that Hector and Hal would follow discretely and that the police wouldn't. She pulled out of her parking spot, drove past the RangeMan SUV and out of the lot. The boy wasn't making any decisions; he looked panicked. Stephanie decided that giving him a plan, one she could somewhat control, would be the best solution.

"I could drive to the Mall. It's busy today. We could just pull up to an entrance, run inside, and lose the cops in the crowd. You could just take off in one direction with your money, and I'll go another. You could leave through a different door and be gone."

The boy seemed to think about it. Stephanie could read every thought that crossed his brain, just by looking at his face. She realized with a grunt that this must be what it was like for Ranger and his men. They could always read her thoughts. She called it their damn RangeMan ESP. She could tell that he was just about to agree to her plan, when everything on his face changed, and she knew it wasn't going to be good.

"No." He said. "We go to my neighborhood. My amigos will cover for me. We know how to protect each other." He pulled out a cell phone and made a call. It was all in Spanish, but Stephanie caught a few words here and there.

_Shit,_ Stephanie thought. "These cops are going to follow us everywhere. We really should go someplace crowded where we can lose them." She suggested.

"My barrio is safe. The cops won't have a chance. They know how dangerous it would be for them to follow us there. My amigos will take good care of us." He smirked.

_The stupid kid actually smirked. He's going to get us both killed._ Stephanie was really getting irritated now. She was trying to envision this kid's _neighborhood_. Something similar to Stark Street in Trenton, no doubt. She grimaced. Nothing good ever happened to her on Stark Street. The boy barked out a series of directions. Within minutes the scenery changed from comfortable middle class homes with beautiful yards and smiling, playful children, to rough, run down housing. Yards were filled with rust covered abandoned cars and beat up furniture, not children. Instead of curtains, old sheets and plywood covered the windows. On the occasional corner, small groups of 'ladies' waited for the next customer to come along. It was Philadelphia's version of Stark Street, all right. As they drove deeper into the neighborhood, Stephanie noticed the cop cars dropped back. _Chickens. _The boy directed her to park near the door of run-down, red brick, four-story apartment building. Within seconds, what initially looked liked a deserted parking lot became filled with young Latino gang members. They looked young, rough, and each one openly carried a gun. The boy quickly got out of the car and ran over to open the driver's door. Stephanie took the keys and put them in her purse. She hung her purse over her shoulder satchel style. If she could keep her purse, she would have her phone and her gun. He yanked her out of the car and pulled her once again up against his chest. He held her like a prize; what sounded like congratulations were being thrown at him from the group that immediately surrounded them. He was literally beaming with pride. They pawed at Stephanie, grabbing her breasts and ass. They leered at her, looking her up and down with slimy smiles.

"Oye, Manuel, agradable paseo."(Hey, Manuel, nice ride.)

"Si, la puta vino con un coche muy bien tambien." (Yeah, the whore came with a fine car, too.)

"Esperanza tiene previsto compartir un poco de ese cono con tus hermanos. Oh, esa chica tiene un buen culo." (Hope you plan to share some of that cunt with your brothers. Oh, that girl has a nice ass.)

"Manny, yo que pensaba como el chocolate, no vainilla." (Manny, I thought you liked chocolate, not vanilla.)

"Usted sabe, Jorges, un hombre tiene que tener un poco de variedad!" (You know, Jorges, a man's got to get some variety!)

The boy hustled Stephanie toward an alley that formed between the apartment building and what appeared to be a bar next door. The crowd was an obvious diversion, blocking their route from the view of the police. Stephanie had not seen the RangeMan car since making the last turn toward the apartment. She knew they were somewhere, but hoped they could keep track of her new course. The alley was long, dark, and full of debris, garbage cans and discarded mattresses. He kept pushing her forward, and when they reached the far end, it opened into a small parking lot behind the bar. Steph noticed a delivery van near the back door of the bar and a black SUV idling beyond on a side street.

"Cuanto quieres por tu mujer?" (How much do you want for your woman?)

Stephanie jerked her head around quickly to see Hector approaching them. He was shirtless, but still had on his black cargos, boots and a gun tucked into his belt. His chest was marked with several scars. Some looked like healed knife wounds. One reminded her of Ranger's scar from the bullet he took from Scrog. With the scars, the gang tattoo on his neck, and the teardrop tattoos under his eye, Hector looked like a mean SOB that nobody would mess with, but to her he was an angel. She sighed silently in relief.

"Mi amigo y yo estamos buscando algo de diversion." (My friend and I are looking for some fun.) Hector nodded toward the SUV, then reached up and touched Stephanie's cheek. The boy tightened his grip and held her protectively.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. _Great, all I need is macho bullshit._ She thought. _This kid thinks he owns me now._ She had no idea what Hector was saying, but the boy was thinking again. Stephanie looked at him and then back to Hector.

"Ella es mia, No he terminado con ella todavia." (She is mine. I'm not done with her yet.)

Hector didn't like this answer and stepped a little closer and put his hand on his gun. "El jefe va a ser muy decepcionado. No le gusta que se le niegue." (The boss will be very disappointed. He doesn't like to be...denied.) There was a definite threat implied with this statement. The boy was rethinking his position.

"Doscientos dolares," (Two Hundred dollars.) the boy quickly spit out, then he rubbed her stomach and lifted her shirt exposing her chest. "Ella es Hermosa, ella no lo es?" (She is beautiful, isn't she?)

Stephanie grabbed her shirt and pulled it back down with an indignant jerk. She was getting the picture now. She was for sale.

Hector scoffed. "Ella es flaca y palida. Ni siquiera puede durar a traves del tanto de nosotros." (She is skinny and pale. She may not even last through the both of us.) He reached to her, then circled his thumb and index finger around her left wrist and lifted it in illustration. "Cien." (One Hundred.)

Stephanie shot a 'Burg' glare at Hector. She understood that. She was being discounted! Hector removed his wallet, pulled out a few bills, and held them forward. The boy greedily grabbed the money and pushed Steph toward Hector. "Tomala. Mi novia no seria muy feliz de todos modos." (Take her. My girlfriend would not be too happy anyway.) Then he took off through the back entrance to the bar.

Hector picked Steph up, threw her over his shoulder, and retreated quickly to the SUV. He opened the back door, slid her onto the seat, and jumped in after her.

"You okay, Bomber?" Hal called over his shoulder as he drove off.

"Just peachy, Hal." She sighed and looked at Hector. "Thanks."

"No problem, Chica." Hector picked up his shirt from the seat and put it back on. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the head.

Hal handed a phone over the seat. "Boss wants to talk to you."

Stephanie rolled her eyes and spoke into the phone. "It was not my fault!"

Hector grinned at her statement.

"Babe, you okay?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Did he hurt you?"

"Just my pride."

"Hector and Hal are going to take you back to the house. Stay there… please. I'll be there soon."

"Okay, what about the police?"

"Tank's already on it. He is working with the Philly PD to straighten things out. We need to protect your cover."

"I'm sorry, Ranger."

"Babe."

He hung up, and she gave the phone back to Hal. "What the hell happened in that store, Bomber?"

Stephanie recounted the entire story to Hector and Hal. By the time she was finished they had returned to the safe house. She handed over the house keys to Hector, who entered first for a quick safety check.

"Not even a dust bunny, Chica!" He smiled. Stephanie gave a tired smile back. "Hal and I will stay here until the boss gets back."

"How bout I make some dinner, Bomber? You hungry?" Hal was already investigating the contents of the refrigerator.

"Sure, Hal, you go ahead. I'm going to go upstairs and take a bath. I can still feel those hands touching me." She absently rubbed her stomach.

Hector looked at her suspiciously. "Are you really okay, Steph?"

She all too quickly responded. "Yeah, Hector, I'm fine." She trudged up the stairs stripping off her clothes as she headed into the bedroom. As tragic events in her life go, this should have been a minor blip on the Richter scale, but she was really bothered and couldn't figure out why. Sitting in the Jacuzzi tub, she went through all of her decisions over and over. Finally she gave up, got out, put on a robe, and lay down on the bed.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	10. Chapter 10

These characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I do this for fun.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 10**

She must have fallen asleep, because when Stephanie opened her eyes, it was dark in the room. Ranger was lying next to her on the bed, his warm arms wrapped around her.

"Carlos? How long have you been here?" She lazily stretched and yawned.

"A while."

"I'm sorry you had to come all the way back here. I know you had important things to do tonight."

"Being here is more important." He kissed her on the head.

Stephanie pulled herself into a sitting position on the bed. She couldn't look at him. "This is just what I didn't want to have happen. I wanted to do this job and not screw it up. How bad is it? Have I totally ruined everything?"

"Babe, nothing's ruined. Tank took care of everything. We are fine." He pulled her hands into his lap and rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs. "Hector and Hal told me what happened. Tank got a copy of the police interviews from the two women in the store. Babe, you sacrificed yourself for that young woman and her child."

Stephanie responded defensively. "Carlos, I couldn't let him take her. She was so scared. She could have miscarried or lost her life and left that beautiful little girl without her mother. That stupid boy was so nervous he could have done anything. I didn't have a choice. Are you angry with me?" Stephanie went stiff. She was waiting for the lecture that was sure to follow.

Ranger lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "I was scared, querido, not angry. You did the right thing. I'm so proud of you." He leaned forward and kissed her. He felt her instant relief. "Hector is worried about you." Stephanie looked up at him. "He says you're too calm."

"Too calm?" She questioned "What? Were they waiting for me to fall apart?" Her irritation grew. "Was I not enough entertainment today?" She hopped off the bed and started pacing. "That _kid_ should be strung up for what he did today. He had no right to scare that woman and her child. He had no right to threaten the cashier. I offered him a great out. I had a plan, but would he listen? NOOO! He had to take us to his 'neighborhood'!" She made invisible quotations with her fingers as she continued to rant. "He had to be with his gang member friends… pawing and grabbing bastards." She rubbed her hands down her robe as if trying to remove a stain from them. "Then...he pushes me down that disgusting alley filled with garbage, and God knows what else, and has the nerve to negotiate selling me to Hector!" She stopped and looked at Ranger. Tears started falling down her cheeks. Now she was screaming. "I was nothing more than a piece of ass, being sold off. And for how much… $200? Noooo! Hector haggled him down to $100! I was marked down! I was rescued by God damned WalMart!" She was done, the tears flowed, and she dropped to the floor.

Ranger picked her up and carried her back to the bed where he held her in his lap. He was torn between his amusement at her last statement and his concern for her emotional state. He held her and soothed her with his hands and rhythmic Spanish words. She cried until there was nothing left.

"Carlos?" She asked in a tired, weepy voice.

"What, Babe?"

"Who had three days?"

"What?"

"Three days. In the pool for losing my car…who won?"

Ranger chuckled. "Babe, nobody won. Your car is in the garage. Hector went back and picked it up."

"Wasn't that dangerous?"

"Nobody was going to mess with Hector down there."

"I guess not. When he showed up to rescue me, even I had to remind _myself_ he was on my side. He was scary."

"Do you feel better, Babe?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never came down from your adrenaline high after the robbery and hostage situation today. That's why Hector was worried. What you experienced today was very stressful, and tense." He stroked her hair. "Do you remember when Stiva abducted you, and I found you in his house locked up in that cabinet?"

Stephanie shivered at the memory. "Yes."

"I sent you back to Morelli's handcuffed to Tank, with strict instructions for you to remain there. But you didn't. You stormed away from Morelli, got into that old Buick, drove back to Stiva's house, waited for him to come home, and plowed into the back of his car when he pulled into the driveway. Then you backed up and hit him again."

Stephanie grinned. "Yeah, that felt great!"

"You needed the release." He paused for a moment. "Steph?"

"Mmmhmm."

"I would have paid more." He gave her his wolf grin.

She smiled back, and he leaned over for a kiss. It started as a series of affectionate pecks and slowly settled into something far more intimate and demanding. Ranger reached in between them and untied her robe. His touches on her skin were reverent and loving. Nothing like the crude and impersonal grabs from the gang earlier. She was safe now. He gave her reassurance of her worth. His Spanish words were no longer rhythmic and consoling. They were passionate and demanding. Desire rose in them both, and every inch of her body ached for his touch. Her hands pulled him close, and she wrapped her legs around his hips begging to feel his need. He was hard and she wanted him inside. She wanted to be his. Ranger could feel her aggression building and could sense her lack of self-control. She frantically tugged off his shirt then pushed him down to the bed, unbuttoned his pants, and pulled down the zipper. She was wild with lust as she pulled his pants down to his knees. He kicked them off and returned to her mouth. This was not a slow and tender moment anymore. It was all about taking back the control she had lost. The anger and fear she held onto were now pouring out in her actions and words.

"Oh god, Carlos. Take me hard, go deep." Her breath was ragged and demanding.

"Dios, Babe, I don't want to hurt you."

"I need you now! God damn it! Don't stop." Her voice was positively feral. She raked her nails down his chest.

Ranger didn't stop. He gave into her demands. His hands and mouth found her breasts, and her nipples hardened in response as he pulled and bit at them. He roughly grabbed her hips and lifted her onto his straining erection. She matched his aggression move for move, screaming as she forced herself down hard. And when it wasn't enough, they rolled without separating, and Ranger continued his assault from on top. Stephanie pulled him down to her and nipped at his skin repeatedly. There was a fine line between pleasure and pain and they crossed it several times in desperation to get closer. Her stomach muscles contracted with the anticipation of release as he pushed deeper with every thrust. She begged him repeatedly to never stop.

"Dios, Babe, you feel so good."

"Oh god, Carlos,...harder...go faster."

He increased the momentum, nearly crushing her with the pressure. She screamed, and when she came it was powerful and all consuming. He followed with his climax just as strong. They both were completely spent and became speechless as they tried to catch their breath. Stephanie curled over onto her side, and Ranger wrapped himself around her, tenderly rubbing his hand over her exposed hip and leg.

They lay still for several minutes before Stephanie spoke. "I don't know where that came from," she whispered, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry I was so...aggressive. I've never felt that way before while making love."

"Babe, you were an animal." Ranger chuckled. "Don't apologize; I can handle that just fine. Any time you want to have angry sex, just let me know. You can count on me."

"Angry sex? Huh!" She rolled over to look at him. "Maybe you should wear protective gear next time."

Ranger looked at her confused. She lifted her hand and gently rubbed the bite marks left on his neck and shoulder. One of them was bleeding. She got a terrified look on her face, as the realization came to her that she might have similar marks. "Oh god, Carlos, do I have any of those marks on me? I have a date tomorrow with Andrew. I can't go out with marks on me like that." She jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror searching her neck and shoulders. She relaxed when she found nothing. She returned to the bed to find Ranger laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, Babe, you should have seen the look on your face. You looked like a teenager afraid her parents were going to catch her making out with her boyfriend."

Stephanie smiled "Well, it's not much different. How can I profess to be the innocent, grieving widow and show up with hickeys? I'm sure Andrew would frown on that. It would ruin everything." She slowly climbed up from the end of the bed and settled into Ranger's lap.

"I was very careful, but you didn't make it easy, Babe." He placed gentle kisses down her throat. "When this assignment is over, I _will_ mark you…here…and here…and here." His kisses descended along her body.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

In the kitchen they found that Hal had prepared a wonderful lasagna and salad. Both he and Hector were gone.

"Hal may just give Ella some competition in the cooking department." Stephanie moaned as she took another bite. "This is fabulous."

"Babe, you keep making those noises and we'll have to christen the table." Ranger gave her another one of his almost smiles. Stephanie blushed.

"I know you said that Hector brought my car back here, but how was that possible? Wouldn't the police have taken it? I mean it was used as a getaway car from a robbery."

"When Hal notified the control room about your situation, I was patched in right away. We didn't know at first why you were being taken. With your history the possibilities were endless." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "When Tank confirmed with the Philly PD that it was a robbery and hostage situation that was taking place, I called Juniak and asked for a favor. I explained to him the need to keep your involvement and identity under wraps." Ranger smiled. "Juniak likes you. He made some phone calls to a couple of the higher ups he knows in the Philly PD, and they worked it out so that your role in the incident has been eliminated from the official reports. They have pictures of the suspect from the security cameras in the store and he's a frequent guest of the city lock up so identifying him was easy. By the time Hector got back to your car. The uniforms had received orders to release it to him, no questions asked."

"But didn't I show up on the security cameras? Isn't there video of me being carted off at gunpoint, by what's his name?"

"Taken care of, Babe."

"You guys are scary. I'm glad I'm on your side."

After they finished eating, Stephanie and Ranger cleared the table and loaded up the dishwasher. It was all very domestic. Stephanie cut herself a large piece of Ella's chocolate cake for dessert (Ranger grabbed an apple) and carried it out to the living room. The packages from the car had been brought into the house and were sitting on the small table in front of the couch.

"I almost forgot what I was doing earlier today." She eagerly opened the bags and pulled out some of the items she had purchased. She set the children's books on the table, took the dishes into the kitchen and added them to the dishwasher. When she returned to the living room, Ranger was holding the frames.

"What are these for, Babe?"

"Pictures." She smiled at her own one word answer. Ranger almost rolled his eyes. Stephanie picked up the file from the desk and carried it over to the couch. She pulled out the pictures of her son and husband and showed them to Ranger. "I want to put these around the house." Ranger took the photos and looked through them. He smiled at the ones of himself as a small child, but when he got to the picture that originally had been of Stephanie and him, he froze.

Stephanie noticed his reaction and sat down next to him. "I remember when that was taken, but whose face is that in place of yours? He looks a little familiar, but I can't place him."

"This is my brother Antonio, we call him Nico."

"You're brother? That explains why he looks so familiar. I can see the family resemblance now. Did you give Tank his picture?" Stephanie took a bite of cake.

"No, I didn't know about it. It was Santos' job to get this intel together. I'm sure he contacted my mother for the pictures."

"Does your mother live in Trenton?"

"Newark, she and my father still live in the house we grew up in. My brother is a doctor. He lives with his wife and kids in Atlanta." Ranger couldn't take his eyes off the picture. "I've never seen this picture of us before. It's from last Christmas isn't it?"

"Yes, the party at Rossini's."

"I remember you in that dress. I couldn't take my eyes off you. I thought you would be there with Morelli."

"Joe had to work that night. I went alone. You weren't at the party very long. Why did you leave after we danced?"

"When we danced, it was so hard not to take you home with me. You were back with Morelli. I couldn't…I needed to get some distance between us. I left for Miami the next day."

"I remember you were gone a long time." Stephanie finished her cake and set the empty plate on the table.

"I spent some time with Julie, worked out of the Miami office. It was easier."

"I'm sorry I made things hard for you. I didn't want that, you know?"

"It was my decision, Babe. I thought after we slept together, it would get you out of my system. I thought time away from you would change how I felt. I thought Morelli was the best choice for you. I've never been so wrong about so many things in my life."

Stephanie sat up tightly and turned to Ranger with her shoulders straight. "What about now. We've been together for the last few days. Is it wrong? Are we wrong?"

Ranger looked into her eyes and saw the fear building behind the bravado. She was absolutely the strongest woman he had ever known. "No, I love you Stephanie. Being with you is right. I only hope that I'm not being selfish. That you won't end up hurt because of us."

"Carlos, there are never any guarantees for our choices. We have to take some risk to get to the good stuff. If we hadn't done this, we would have always lived with the 'what if's' and the regret for never taking the chance. Right now, I'm really happy with you and beyond that, I'll take my chances with the hurt." She put her hands around his neck, pulled him close, and they kissed.

"Dios, Babe, I love you." He whispered against her lips.

"I love you too, Carlos." She set the picture frame aside and climbed into his lap. They spent the next ten minutes sharing tender kisses and words. He leaned her back onto the couch, and as her head came down on a pillow, she heard the rustling of plastic. "What's this?" She broke from the kiss, reached her hand behind her head, and pulled something out from under the pillow. It was a white plastic shopping bag. One she didn't recognize. "What's in here?"

"Hector brought that in from your car with the other packages. He said this is what you were originally after when you went into the dollar store."

Stephanie opened the bag and dumped out the contents…crayons, markers, drawing paper. "It is." She smiled. "I wanted to create some child drawings to hang on the refrigerator. Val always has stuff that the girls have drawn, hanging on the refrigerator at her house." Stephanie started giggling. "Can you imagine the expression on the cashiers face when big, tough, dangerous looking Hector, with his gang tattoos, showed up at the check out with crayons? Remind me to thank him. It had to be almost as embarrassing as if I would have sent him to buy tampons." By now Stephanie was laughing uncontrollably.

"I told you, Babe, my men love you."

Stephanie got her giggles under control and opened the box of crayons. "Mmmmm, smell this." She held up the box to Ranger's nose. "Do you remember getting your new box of crayons every fall before the new school year started? Val and I would be so excited on school supply shopping day. We would always try to convince mom to get us the big box of 64 crayons; it had the built in crayon sharpener on the back, but she always said that the 24 count box was plenty."

"Babe." Ranger's one word response completely implied that he was much to cool to have ever been excited over crayons.

"Oh come on, Carlos," she held up the picture of him as a young child, "you can't tell me that this cute little boy never got excited over new crayons. It's a right of passage for every red blooded American child, or in your case Cuban-American. Here," she handed him some paper. "Help me make some pictures for the refrigerator." She dumped some crayons onto the table and picked up a pink one. "Maybe you can dig way down deep to your inner child and give me an idea of what little boys like to draw pictures of. I don't have any experience with boys."

Ranger looked at her and raised one eyebrow. "That's not what I hear, Babe."

She slapped his arm. "Get your mind out of the gutter. You know what I'm talking about! I only have nieces."

Ranger gave her a look as if he couldn't believe he was about to participate in this. "Well, first you're going to have to drop the pink crayon, Babe. I would never have drawn with a pink crayon."

They spent the next half hour creating "boy pictures." There were pictures of fire trucks, dogs, and yes, a gun. Ranger even drew a stick figure of 'Mommy'. Stephanie opened the package of magnets and proudly displayed them on the refrigerator. She then inserted the photos into the picture frames and placed them around the living room. One on the desk, one on the end table by the wing-backed chair, and the one of her and her husband prominently displayed on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

"Babe, if you ever tell any of my men that I drew those crayon pictures…I'll…"

"You'll what, Batman?"

"I'll tell your mother that you like Ella's pineapple upside down cake better than hers. She'll never make you dessert ever again."

"It never leaves this room. I promise your secret is safe with me."

Ranger crossed the room quickly, picked her up, and carried her upstairs.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

Saturday started leisurely. Ranger and Stephanie laid in bed most of the morning making love, talking, and learning more about each other. She discovered that Ranger's favorite color was blue. His favorite movie was The Bourne Conspiracy (big shock), and when he was eight years old, he wanted to grow up to become a drummer. That one made Stephanie laugh. He had a wild bunch of teenage years, broke some serious hearts (again, no surprise.) and is alive today, he is convinced, only because the army changed his life. The army gave him focus, discipline, and skills.

Stephanie shared that she always felt second best to her sister Val, but in recent years, had developed a good relationship with her that garnered mutual respect for each other. Their lives and goals were so vastly different, but they discovered that each one secretly envied the other for what they had. Val was jealous of Stephanie's independence and freedom to do as she pleased, with no responsibilities to anyone else. Stephanie envied Val's loving relationship with her husband. Val had someone who thought the sun rose and set over her. Albert was totally devoted to her and would never think of cheating. Stephanie never had that with her relationship with either Dickie or Joe. After her divorce, she had discovered that his infidelity with Joyce was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Dickie's affairs. She never had proof that Joe had been unfaithful when they were together, but she always suspected that he was still hung up on Terri Gilman. They had dated prior to her relationship with Joe, and, on the occasion that they would run into her, Stephanie would catch certain looks pass between them.

"Babe, I know how insecure you feel about yourself in relationships. Dickie and Joe were fools who never understood or appreciated what they had in you. I hope you know that I would never treat you that way. I will always be honest with you. I know our relationship is new, but we have known each other for years, and I respect you too much to ever deceive you that way."

"I know that, Carlos. You have always been honest with me. You are even honest about what you can't tell me. I understand that, and I'm okay with it. I just could never tolerate anyone withholding information that directly relates to me, or the people I love. I may need to be protected against physical harm, I expect and accept that to a point, but I don't ever want to be protected from knowing the truth. I mean it. Even if you thought it would be very upsetting to me."

"Stephanie, you have brought such light into the lives of me and my men. You may have to cut them some slack. They are very protective of you. They don't want to see you hurt in any way. But everyday they spend with you; they see more and more how strong you really are. They are learning that you are a force to be reckoned with. But they are trained to respond to protect first, and ask questions later, regardless of your opinion at the time."

"I can live with that for now. But be assured they will hear my opinion."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Babe."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	11. Chapter 11

All Stephanie Plum characters are the brainchild of Janet Evanovich. I write for fun.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 11**

When Stephanie stepped out of the shower, Ranger was just finishing up a phone call.

"Tank, Bobby, and Hector are on their way here. We need to scout out the floor plans and exits of the restaurant and club. Because of his contact with Sullivan on Thursday evening, Santos, for now, will be limited to surveillance and communication. He and Hal will be with you today." He walked up behind her and kissed her on the neck while she messed with her hair. "Tank is bringing Lula up for the afternoon, too."

"Lula is coming here? That's a little different for Tank isn't it, bringing Lula on a job?" She moaned when his kisses became more passionate. "Don't start with me now," she warned him playfully, "or I'll never get dressed."

"And that would be bad because?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and started to untie her robe. She stopped his hands and skirted away from him. He sighed, grabbed her arm and pulled her back planting one last kiss on her lips in resignation. "He says she's become impossible to live with. Thinks she's one of the team now, since she helped out the other night. He thought you two could go out shopping together; maybe take her off his hands for a little while." Ranger had a slight grin going.

Stephanie couldn't hold back her smile. "Lula is just like that. Takes hold of an idea and runs with it. She is probably in full rhino mode with Tank. The biggest guy I know has the softest heart when it comes to women. He just doesn't quite know how to say no to Lula yet." Stephanie grabbed a lace bra and underwear set out of her drawer and walked over to the closet to find something to wear. "No shopping, but maybe a movie would be good. How long will you guys be busy?"

"Just a couple of hours. We don't anticipate any problems. We just don't want any surprises. We should be back here by 1400 hours. We can all have a late lunch together."

A few minutes later, Stephanie came out wearing a pair of designer jeans that fit her every curve perfectly. She completed the outfit with a lightweight ivory cashmere sweater. She had already put in the green contact lenses for the day. "What should I wear this evening? I checked out the website for the restaurant. It's very nice. I don't want to look too sexy, but I don't want to be boring either."

Ranger walked towards the closet. "Babe, no one would ever describe you as boring, but save sexy for me." He walked into the closet and came out with a beautiful embroidered plum colored dress. It had a strapless scalloped neckline, a hemline that fell just above the knee, and a detachable sheer organza tank overlay that belted at the waist. The skirt was full. Perfect for dancing. It was very sophisticated and tasteful. "I like this one." He said, holding it up.

"I do too, that's why I bought it. It's a Stella McCartney original; you have excellent taste, Batman. I think it will be perfect for this evening." Stephanie sighed wistfully. "I've never had so many nice clothes. You've ruined me for most stores in the mall, you know. I'll be totally unbearable to shop with anymore. Just like you did with those 10,000 thread count sheets on the bed. I won't be able to go back."

"Maybe that was my grand plan; to make it so you won't want to leave my bed." He ran his fingers up her arm.

"The sheets are nice…, but you being in the bed is more than enough reason for me not to want to leave." She leaned in and grazed her lips over his. He took her bottom lip between his teeth and pulled her close into his arms. He deepened the kiss and begged entrance into her mouth. She granted it with a moan. His cell phone rang. Ranger stepped back and answered.

"Yo. Park in the garage." He snapped it closed. "They're here, but I won't forget where we were just now. We'll finish this later."

"Promise?"

He pointed to his head and flashed his trademark wolf grin. "Steel trap." He turned and left the room.

Stephanie finished dressing and headed downstairs. Lester and Hal were standing by the front door. They nodded at her and smiled. Bobby, Hector, and Ranger were standing in the living room looking over some files. They looked up as she came into the room. Both Bobby and Hector greeted her. Stephanie gave Hector a hug and thanked him again for helping her yesterday.

"Girlfriend, this house is somethin'." Lula was sitting on the couch cozied up close to Tank. "A girl could get used to this. I think your kitchen is bigger than my whole apartment. You sure could have some parties in this place."

"Well, it's not really my house, Lula. It's all part of the cover. I'm here temporarily. I'm glad you're here, though, I could use your help again."

"Whatever it is, you just say the word. Ol' Lula's got your back. What do you need?"

"I was hoping you could help me with another distraction." Lula was practically vibrating with anticipation and excitement at her request. Tank's eyes got big and if looks could kill, he was holding an AK-47 at Stephanie's temple with the trigger pulled. Steph just winked at him.

"Damn skippy, lay it on me. I'm ready, it's about time you all realized my potential. This stuff is fun." Tank looked absolutely nauseated.

"Good, I'm glad you want to help, because what I need is for you to distract me for the afternoon. Grab your bag, Lula, we're going to the movies." Stephanie tugged on Lula's arm to lift her off the couch. Tank looked relieved and helped push Lula to her feet. "Later, guys." She grabbed her own purse, swung by Ranger, gave him a quick kiss on the lips, and headed thru the kitchen to the garage door with Lula in tow.

Once they were in the car, Lula, who until now had been rendered speechless by the turn of events, spoke up.

"Girl, that was not funny. You got me all excited to do some job and now we're going to the movies?"

"Yes, and RangeMan is paying. Just think, on RangeMan's dime, you can have popcorn, candy, soda, and even nachos if you want. Just keep in mind that we're having lunch with the guys when we get back."

"Well, alright then. I guess I could help you out. Everybody knows you can't go to the movies by yourself. What are we goin' to see anyway?"

"I don't know. This GPS will take us to the nearest movie theater, and we'll see what's playing when we get there."

"I hope that new Denzel movie is playing. He is a fine man, that Denzel. I could handle gettin' me a piece of that. You know what I'm sayin'. Course he's no Tank, but hell; he'll do in a pinch. Did I see you kiss Batman in front of his men? What was that all about? You been gettin' some of that?"

"Things with Ranger have…heated up." Stephanie felt the blush creep up her neck and take over her face. She couldn't stop smiling.

"Heated up? Huh. If you get much more heated, you goin' to combust right here in the damn car. Maybe I should be drivin'."

The Denzel movie was playing at the theater. The girls settled in, and Les and Hal sat directly behind them. Occasionally, during the movie, Lester would playfully throw popcorn over Stephanie's head and into her lap. She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. He just grinned back. At one point during the movie he leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

"How's it going with the Boss Man?" Stephanie turned to look over her shoulder and found she was staring directly into Lester's smiling eyes.

It was a good thing it was dark, because she was blushing again, but her smile was all he needed to see. "Things are much improved. We've been… _talking_."

"Listen, Beautiful, maybe this is where things went wrong with Morelli. You do know that talking is not going to cut it with a guy."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "But we've been _talking_ a lot. In fact, we were getting ready to _talk_ some more when you guys showed up today."

The light bulb went on in Lester's head. "Oh, you mean _talking_! Yeah, _talking_ is very good. More _talking_ is what you both need." He sat back into his seat and looked at a very confused Hal. "They're _talking_!" He smiled.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

It was closing in on 7:00 pm. Stephanie was dressed and ready for her date with Andrew. She completed the outfit Ranger had chosen earlier with a pair of black heels, her locket, earrings, light make-up, and the Black Orchid perfume. Everyone had left the house except Ranger. He had just finished taping the wire in place under her dress.

"Are you ready?" He smiled at Stephanie and tugged on one of her curls.

"Yes, dad! Do you want to interrogate my date before we leave?" she said playfully.

"He won't even know I'm here."

"But I will."

"Worried?"

"No! I feel safe with you here."

"I'll be close the whole night."

"I know. I always know when you're near."

Ranger leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. "Mi amada. You are so beautiful."

The doorbell rang.

Stephanie stepped away from their embrace. "Guess this is it." She gave Ranger a quick kiss, grabbed her clutch purse with her gun, pepper spray and tracker, headed downstairs, and opened the door.

"Andrew," she smiled warmly. "Come in, I'm almost ready."

Andrew entered the foyer, gave Stephanie a chaste kiss on the cheek, and handed her a bouquet of beautiful pink roses. He was dressed in a strikingly tailored gray suit and tie, and he smelled wonderful.

"Thank you, these are beautiful. Come with me to the kitchen, and I'll find a vase or something to put them in. I don't know if I have any vases left. I had a lot of them after Ric's funeral, but I threw them all away. I couldn't stand using them for anything else. No one has brought me flowers in a very long time."

"That's a shame. A beautiful woman like you should receive flowers on a regular basis. You look absolutely stunning this evening by the way."

Stephanie stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him with a smile. "Thank you." She couldn't find a vase in any of the cabinets, so she settled on a glass pitcher. She added water and placed the flowers on the breakfast bar. "Pink roses are my favorite. How did you know?"

"Just a lucky guess. I saw them, and I knew they had been grown just for you." Andrew took in the surroundings. "Is your son here? I would love to meet him."

"I'm sorry, Andrew, he is staying with his grandmother this weekend. I dropped him off this morning. They have big plans to go to the zoo tomorrow. I never showed you his picture the other night. Here." She reached for her neck, lifted the locket and opened it.

"He's a good looking boy." He smiled warmly at Stephanie. "I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time at the zoo. It was one of my daughter's favorite places, too." Andrew absently traced one of the pictures on the refrigerator with his fingers as memories flooded his mind. He finally looked back at Stephanie. "Is he with _your_ mother?"

"No, my brother Lester is the only family I have left. Both my parents are gone."

"I'm sorry, Maria," He ran his fingers along her cheek. "You are so young to have had such tragedy in your life."

"I think it's why Lester and I are so close. We've been through a lot together." She closed the locket back up. "This grandmother is Ric's mother. She doesn't live far. She offers to keep Carlos for me a lot. It's good for her to have him so close. She misses Ric. It left a big hole in her heart when he died."

"I'm sure he's the reason why you are doing so well, too. Sharing your life with a child is the best reason to go on living." He smiled painfully and then quickly changed the subject. "Our reservations are for 7:30. Are you ready?"

Stephanie felt the awkwardness of his statement and decided to let it go. "Yes, just let me grab my purse and wrap. I think it might get a little chilly this evening. I love autumn, don't you?"

The restaurant was very nice. The tables were set with white linens and the table settings were formal. Stephanie was glad she had not underdressed. As the hostess escorted them through the room, Stephanie took a quick scan of her surroundings. Bobby and Hector were seated at a table near the back. She had to take a second look because they were both dressed in suits and looked very hot. It was going to be fun watching the waitresses trip past their table all evening. The hostess handed them their menus and informed them that their waiter, Mark, would be with them shortly. She smiled warmly at Andrew and left the table. _Yeesh! What is it with women and her men!_

Stephanie perused the menu. "Andrew, you said you've eaten here before?"

"Yes, although it's been a while…, before Marissa died."

"Marissa. Was that your wife's name?"

"Yes, and my daughter's name was Madison." Andrew's face softened, and his eyes were focused somewhere in the distance.

Stephanie reached across the table and took his hand. "We don't have to stay if you are uncomfortable here. We could leave and go somewhere else, or we could take something back to my house and eat there if you would prefer."

"Nonsense, I'm fine. I wanted to bring you here. You will love the food. Their specialty is the seafood. Do you like seafood?"

"Yes, I do. What do you recommend?"

"I've always been partial to the Lemon & Herb Salmon, but the Shrimp Fettuccini is also delicious."

"I'll tell you what, why don't you order for both of us. Just surprise me. I'm not very picky. I love food."

Andrew smiled and agreed. Mark approached their table, and Andrew ordered wine and an appetizer, as well as the entrees. While they waited for their food to arrive, the conversation continued.

"Andrew, you know a lot about me already. What about you? What do you do for a living?"

"I am an independent financial investment analyst. Meaning, I don't work for a company. I have a solid base of clients who pay me quite well to give them advice on their money. I also manage their portfolios when needed."

"Really? That must be fascinating work. Do you have any famous clients?"

"My client list is kept confidential, Maria. You probably wouldn't recognize any of their names anyway, but they insist on keeping their identities protected. Some of them are quite wealthy."

"Do you work from home?"

"I have an office downtown in the Harrison building. It's easier to meet with clients there, but I work from home on occasion."

"When Ric died, I was inundated with paperwork. I think I told you he had investments." Andrew nodded. "His lawyer tried to educate me on what everything meant, but I was totally lost, and I wasn't in the best state of mind. Financial interests are not my specialty. I really have to trust the accountant to make all the decisions with my money. I've always been uncomfortable with that, and I would like to be more proactive in the management of the investments. I want to make sure it is safe for Carlos, so that he will always be taken care of. I know that's what Ric would have wanted."

"Maria, if you would like, and if you're comfortable with it, I would be glad to look over your portfolio and give you a second opinion as to what's going on. You're right; you really should be more involved. I know it can be overwhelming, but completely trusting your money decisions to someone else can be dangerous. I always spend a great deal of time with my clients making sure they understand the risks of my recommendations."

"I would like that, Andrew, thanks. Should I make an appointment with your office?"

"No." He looked up at her with a look of inspiration. "Since your son will still be away tomorrow, why don't you come to my house, bring your paperwork, and we can go over it together. Would that work for you?"

"But tomorrow is Sunday; I would hate to intrude on your weekend time for business."

"We won't think of it as business then. It will just be two friends having lunch and giving each other advice."

"Okay, but what advice will I be giving you in return? I'm not sure I have anything of value to offer."

"That's where you're wrong, my dear. You have already given me so much in just these few short days we have known each other. The way you have faced the loss of your husband has given me hope that someday I may be able to cope better with my own loss."

"That's very sweet of you to say. Most days I still don't think I handle it very well." Stephanie leaned forward. "I'll agree on meeting with you tomorrow with one condition."

"What's that?"

"You let me bring lunch."

"Maria, you don't….."

"This is a deal breaker, Andrew. I insist."

"Okay," he smiled, "you bring lunch."

"Thanks."

Shortly after their conversation ended their appetizer arrived followed by their salads and entrees.

"Oh my god, Andrew, you were right," Stephanie moaned. "This shrimp is so good."

Andrew chuckled. "I'm glad you're enjoying it, but I think you might be making some of the other patrons a bit jealous. I think they want what you're having."

Stephanie looked around the room. Several people were staring at her. She even noticed Bobby and Hector snickering. "Oops, I'm sorry, but I warned you. I love food! I'll try to behave myself."

"Don't apologize, it feels good to laugh again. If you react that way to dinner, I can't wait until you have dessert. Let me guess… I bet you're a chocolate lover or…no, maybe the tiramisu?"

"Tiramisu would be wonderful. My grandmother used to say, "Life is short, eat dessert first." When I was in college I lived by that motto. Now that I'm a mother, I have to show a little more restraint and set a better example."

"I'd say your grandmother was a smart lady."

"Yeah, she really loved life. We were a lot alike."

They finished their meal, and fortunately, Stephanie spared the restaurant anymore moaning reactions to the food. Andrew paid the bill, and they left for the club.

La Habana was a Cuban dance club located near downtown Philly. The clientele were 30-somethings with middle and upper incomes. The atmosphere was electric and vibrant. The live band played all Latin American dance music, both slow and fast.

"This club is fantastic. Have you been here before?" Stephanie was leaning towards Andrew's ear. The music was loud.

"No, a friend recommended it to me. She knows I used to dance and thought I would like it. Let's take this table over here. Do you know some of the South American dances?"

"A few, my mother made me take dance lessons in high school. It's been a while. We didn't dance to this in college. Can you do that?" she said pointing to a couple on the dance floor. "They're quite good…and flexible!"

"I don't think I'm quite that limber anymore, but I can dance the Salsa, the Merengue and the Rhumba."

They settled at a table and ordered drinks. Bobby and Hector were nowhere to be seen, but Stephanie knew they were close. She hadn't seen Ranger at the restaurant but she spotted him now at the bar. She wondered if he would dance. The music made her think of him. He probably grew up listening and dancing to this music. It made her tingle just thinking about the way he might dance with her. She thought back to all the distractions that she had worked and realized that several of the Merry Men had danced with her at the different bars and clubs, but never once did Ranger participate. He always stayed in the shadows watching, protecting her from danger.

Andrew was a good dancer and a perfect gentleman. He never touched her inappropriately or suggestively. They spent the next two hours watching and dancing. Some of the couples were so good it was obvious they were trained, or they spent a hell of a lot of time on the dance floor. By midnight, Stephanie was exhausted.

"You look tired. Would you like to go home?"

"Oh, I've had such a good time, Andrew, but yes, I am tired. Would you mind?"

"No, Maria, I don't mind at all. Let's go."

The drive home was quiet as they both reflected on the evening. As they neared the safe house, Stephanie began to get nervous. She'd had a wonderful time with Andrew and the expectation at the end of this date would surely, at a minimum, be a good night kiss. She was wired, and the guys would be listening. Ranger would be listening. They hadn't discussed this, and she didn't know how far to let things go.

"Andrew, what time should I come by tomorrow?"

"Anytime that would be convenient for you, is fine."

"How about noon?"

"Yeah, that works. Are you sure you don't want me to have lunch ready?"

"Positive. I'll bring lunch, but I need your address."

"Here." He reached into his suit pocket and handed her a small gray card. "This is one of my business cards. I've written my home address on the back."

Andrew parked the car in the driveway and walked around to open Stephanie's door. He took her hand to assist her out of the car and did not let go. Stephanie felt like a teenager on a first date with her parents looking out the window. As they approached the front door, Stephanie pulled her keys from her purse. Andrew took them and unlocked the door. She thought immediately of the way Ranger or one of his men would make her wait, while they cleared her apartment for safe entry. She smiled when Andrew handed her keys back to her.

"I had a great time tonight, Andrew. Thank you."

Andrew put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. He gently placed a kiss on her lips and whispered, "You were wonderful." He kissed her again with a little more passion. "Goodnight, Maria. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Stephanie turned entered the house and locked the door.

She stood leaning against the door in the dark for a few seconds. She knew she wasn't alone. "Ranger?" Before she even finished saying his name, he was there. He pressed his entire body up against hers. His mouth claimed her lips without a word. He was passionate and demanding. Stephanie dropped her purse and tried to wrap her arms around his neck, but he gripped both her wrists in one hand and anchored them above her head. She broke from the kiss and tried to speak. He put one finger to her lips, then slowly reached down the front of her dress and removed the wire.

"We're good here, Tank. Call it a night. Send everyone home." He turned off the wire, removed his earpiece and dropped them both to the floor. Stephanie was confused by the intense look on Ranger's face as he held her captive. His lips revisited her face and slowly traveled down the side of her neck. His one free hand caressed her knee and seductively trailed up her thigh, lifting her dress as it progressed. Stephanie moaned with pleasure. "Don't speak, amada." His hand reached her upper thigh, and he slipped his fingers under her panties. "Dios, esta tan humeda!" (God, you are so wet.) Stephanie was so lost in sensation that she could barely stand. He let go of her wrists and lifted her thighs around his waist. She held onto his shoulders, her head thrown back against the door. Ranger reached in between them, opened his belt and zipper, and took her right there; the only sounds being their heavy breathing, grunts of pleasure and shouts of release.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	12. Chapter 12

All things Stephanie Plum belong to JE. I own only my thoughts.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

Scent of a Woman

Chapter 12

"Carlos, we need to talk."

"What is it, Babe?"

They had moved upstairs to the bedroom. The house was quiet and dark. The passionate interlude that had occurred earlier downstairs only served to reaffirm Stephanie's notion that she and Ranger needed to communicate. She needed to know what was acceptable in her relationship with Andrew. What she and Ranger had was so new and delicate; it could be easily damaged. Because of her history with Joe, she felt trust was still a big issue for them to overcome.

"This thing with Andrew. He's becoming more attracted to me…things are starting to get…friendly."

"Did he touch you?"

"No!..." She sat up quickly. "Not like that. Tonight it was just a kiss. But it wasn't one of those slutty distraction kisses, where the drunk guy has only one thing on his mind. Andrew is developing feelings for me, I can tell. He's a nice man with honorable intentions, but he is also hurting and very lonely and I'm leading him on." Stephanie looked down into her lap. "I mean…I am going to see him again tomorrow…at his house…and we have never talked about how far this could go."

"Babe."

"Downstairs, earlier, when we…. I could feel the tension in your body. Your eyes were so intense. I wasn't sure at first if you were angry at me."

"Did I scare you, Babe? I'm sorry; I just needed you right then. I need to touch you, to…"

"Own me?… or reclaim me?" Ranger's face became contrite. Stephanie sat up on her knees and put both hands on either side of his face. "Right now, I need my boss at RangeMan to tell me what he expects. I need my friend and mentor Ranger, to tell me what to do…and I need my lover Carlos, to tell me what he can handle. You are all three of those men for me."

Ranger took her hands and kissed them. He was in thought for what seemed like hours to Stephanie, but was, in actuality, only a few moments. Finally, he looked directly into her eyes and spoke with gentleness and surety. "As your boss, I expect you to get the job done. It's what I expect from all my employees. As your friend and mentor, I will tell you that you know yourself, and your limits, better than anyone, but you have to focus on the goal. You can't let emotions dictate your path." His eyes got very soft and his voice became almost sad and hesitant. "And as your lover, I can only ask you to be careful and come back to me unharmed." He pulled a curl and tucked it behind her ear.

Stephanie thought about his answer. "Hmmm. Alright, let's start with my limits."

"What do you think your limits are in this situation?"

"I can't sleep with him." She was adamant. "I won't sleep with him and I'm pretty sure I can avoid that. Andrew is very much a gentleman. I don't think he would even consider forcing himself on a woman. But if this charade goes on too long, he is going to expect a more intimate relationship with me. I think _I_ can handle that, but because I am always wired, you will hear everything, and I need to know that I won't come back here…to you being upset with me, or worse…feeling that I've lost your trust."

"Babe, I would never do that to you. I know better than anyone what it takes sometimes to get the job done. I'm not going to say it won't bother me. It will. Hell, tonight was damn maddening…watching him so close to you...touching you...kissing you, but I'm the one that asked you to do this. I'm the one who put you in this situation. I will stand behind your decisions; I won't blame you for what happens. It's my job to protect you from as much as possible. If I see a situation getting out of hand, my men and I will try to deflect it."

Stephanie sighed and relaxed. "Thank you." She kissed him. "I needed to hear that." She kissed him again.

Ranger put his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest. "I know this is hard on us both, but I trust you with this. You've done everything right. Everything that you have planned has worked. I am so proud of you, Babe."

"Ranger?"

"Yes, Babe."

"I think I made my first big mistake tonight."

"What was that?"

"I promised to bring lunch to my meeting at Andrew's house tomorrow. I don't know what I was thinking. You know I can barely boil water!"

Ranger laughed. "Already taken care of, Babe. I called Ella earlier and she's sending up everything you need with my men tomorrow. She even said something about dessert."

Stephanie grinned and walked her fingers up his chest. "Oh, you're good!"

Ranger gave her a sexy smirk "Oh, you have no idea how very good I can be." And he pulled her into a searing kiss.

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX...XXX...XXX...

It was late the next morning when Hal and Hector arrived in one car and Lester and Bobby in another. Lester walked in carrying a large picnic basket and a small cooler. Stephanie was in the kitchen when they came in.

"Hey, Beautiful, Ella sent this with us. You're lucky we put it in the back of the car, because the smells coming from this basket were good enough for us to reconsider our loyalty to RangeMan. If this food would have been within reach, it never would have made it here." He set the basket and the cooler on the kitchen counter.

Stephanie stepped over, lifted the lid of the basket and took a whiff. "Oh, wow. Ella is a goddess among women! Geez, there's enough to feed an army in here. Is that fried chicken?" Lester nodded and reached into the basket. Stephanie playfully slapped his hand. "If you guys take good care of me today, maybe there will be leftovers. But if your hungry now…," She opened the refrigerator and waved her hand at the contents. "…have at it. Ella already had this place stocked to the gills. There's more in the freezer and the pantry. I won't be ready to leave for another thirty minutes. You have plenty of time to grab a bite."

The men didn't need to be told twice. They eagerly crowded the kitchen, pulling out food and dishes. Stephanie giggled at the activity and banter as they discovered the wealth the refrigerator had to offer. She poured a cup of coffee and headed back upstairs to get dressed for her 'date' with Andrew. Ranger was just getting out of the shower and walked into the room with just a towel wrapped around his hips. Earlier that morning he had gone for a run. Nothing big he had said before leaving, maybe just eight or so miles. After last night, Stephanie couldn't fathom having the energy to run one mile, let alone eight.

"The guys are downstairs." She told Ranger. "I turned them loose in the kitchen. I brought you some coffee. If you hurry, you might be able to get a bite to eat before they inhale it all."

Ranger took the coffee and kissed her. "I'll be fine, the only thing in this house I'm hungry for is right here." He pulled her into his warm, wet body. He ran his lips along her jaw and down her neck. _God he smelled wonderful_.

"If you start something right now mister, you better be prepared to finish it quickly. I have to be ready in 30 minutes and I am not going to leave this house feeling… needy. It wouldn't be a good idea."

Ranger processed her words and stopped immediately in mid-kiss. He was well aware of how easily he could elevate her level of desire, and a sexually frustrated Stephanie could be dangerous. Stephanie smiled when she looked up at him. It was one of the few times she was able to understand exactly what his thoughts were by looking at his face.

"Am I that bad?" she questioned.

"I didn't say anything!" He looked shocked that he was being accused.

"You didn't have to. Your face and your abrupt actions said it all."

"Babe, you know how you can get. Remember the garage incident and the jelly donut analogy? Not that I'm complaining, but I sure as hell don't want to send you off to Sullivan when you're…oozing." He flashed her one of his 2000-watt smiles.

"Point taken. Now move. I have to get dressed." She walked passed him and headed to the closet. Right before she entered, she stopped. "Carlos?"

"Yeah, Babe?"

"Will you take me dancing sometime?"

"I'd like that, Babe."

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX…

Wired, prepared with files and armed with food, Stephanie pulled into Andrew's driveway right on time. It's amazing how easy it is to keep to a schedule when you have five guys monitoring your every move. This was going to be the first time, other than in the car that Stephanie was going to be completely alone with Andrew Sullivan. She was nervous. She parked the car, angled herself out of the driver's seat and opened the back gate. No sooner had she realized that she was going to have to make two trips with all that she brought, when Andrew showed up next to her.

"Good afternoon, Maria." He had a huge smile on his face as he leaned in and planted a warm kiss on her lips. "I couldn't wait for you to get here today. I had such a wonderful time last night and I missed you."

"Hello, Andrew." Stephanie shyly smiled and pulled him in to a hug. "I had a great time too."

"What can I carry?"

"Well, how about you take the cooler and the basket. I'll bring my files." They closed up the car and headed into the house. Stephanie had been so nervous that she didn't really even notice the house until now. "Wow, Andrew this place is beautiful." They walked through the foyer and down a long hallway to the kitchen all along passing magnificent room after magnificent room. The house was huge.

"It's rather large for one person, I'm afraid. But I couldn't bear to give it up. There is so much of my wife and daughter here."

"I understand. Did Marissa do all the decorating?"

"Mmmm, we bought this house the first year we were married. Marissa spent hours with the decorators and months taking trips to antique stores all over the tri-state area. She even found things over the Internet and had them shipped here. It was her mission to make this house perfect."

"Well, mission accomplished. It's absolutely stunning. This house could be photographed for a magazine. I'm impressed that you can keep it so clean. Most men I know are lousy at keeping a house."

"During the week I have a housekeeper. She does all the housework and prepares my meals. I rough it on the weekends."

"Well, you don't have to rough it today. Shall we eat first?" Andrew nodded. Stephanie began unpacking the basket and cooler. Andrew got out dishes and silverware and set the table. "Do you have wine glasses?"

"Yes." He looked at all the food as she emptied the basket and cooler. "You do know that it's just the two of us, don't you?" he said teasingly. "I couldn't eat all of this in a week."

"I didn't know what you'd like, so I brought some of everything. You're doing me such a great favor by looking at my portfolio, and I wanted you to know how thankful I am."

Andrew walked over to her and lifted her face to his. "I love that I can do this for you, Maria."

Stephanie was uneasy with the way he was staring at her. He was falling hard. "Okay, then let's eat." She quickly pulled away from him and started moving food to the table. Once they began to eat, the conversation slipped into a relaxed dialogue. They exchanged stories of childhood experiences and embarrassing family members. They laughed and joked with each other like old friends. Stephanie was intrigued with him and admitted to herself that she could easily fall for him if it weren't for her involvement with Ranger. _I mean, what's not to like, he's gorgeous, funny, generous, wealthy, successful, and obviously had a great capacity to love his now deceased wife. My mother would love him. Ugh, I can't believe I just thought that!_

After lunch Stephanie picked up her files and they headed into Andrew's home office. She handed him everything, and he motioned her to take a seat across from the desk. He settled into his chair and began going through her paperwork, every once in a while, making notes.

"Maria, your husband made some very wise investments. They have paid off quite well. This man Bill Spruce, he's the one managing your accounts?" He looked up at her.

"Yes, Bill. I don't see him very often. I think he got the message that I'm not very good with this sort of thing. But I get statements and I keep everything together. I just don't know what to do with it."

"Well, he seems to know his stuff. He's done a good job keeping your portfolio diverse. Despite the economy, he has managed to increase your value at a good rate. I have made a few notes and some suggestions for a couple of changes, but overall I think your trust, in him is well placed."

"That was Ric's decision. I never met Bill until after his death. I think they knew each other from college. I'm sure that's why Ric was so comfortable with him. I still keep in touch with my good friend Mary Lou from college. I trust her with all my secrets."

"Yeah, college buddies can be pretty loyal. I have a couple of close friends from my college days as well. In fact, I have dinner with one of them every month. He's also one of my clients. We did a lot of crazy stuff in college." Andrew had a smirk on his face as he was obviously remembering some specific antics.

"That's quite a mischievous look on your face, Andrew. You and this guy must have some stories to tell. What were you two, hellion frat boys or the campus Romeos?"

Andrew chuckled. "Well, my friend Victor, was both. I, however, was a bit of a hellion, but not much of a Romeo. We really got ourselves into some scrapes," he mused. "But then I met Marissa at the beginning of my junior year and I was completely smitten, or whipped, as Victor put it. Marissa and I became inseparable almost immediately. Victor, on the other hand, he liked…how should I put it? He liked variety. He had a different girl every weekend. He came from money and was quite the charmer. Still is."

Stephanie laughed. "I can't imagine you being the wild type. I can see by the look on your face how special his friendship is to you though. Did he ever settle down like you did?"

"Victor was married once, but it didn't last long. He got too restless. He lives in New York City, but comes to Philadelphia for a couple of days once a month. We meet for dinner, hash about old times and then spend a couple of hours going over his finances."

"That's nice that you still have that connection. I'm sure it has been very valuable to you these last four months especially."

Andrew's face became pained. "Victor was very fond of Marissa. My daughter was like a niece to him. He was always spoiling her with extravagant gifts. Their deaths were very difficult on him, but he helped me tremendously. I couldn't make decisions. He handled everything for me." Andrew stood up from his desk and wandered over to a large window that looked out into a picturesque backyard garden. "For almost three months, the only time I left this house was to have dinner with Victor. He always insisted that we go out. It wasn't until the last month that I started going back to the office and on my own to Dino's on Thursday evenings."

Stephanie rose from her seat and stood next to him. "And this weekend you had dinner and dancing out with me. See, you are making improvements. I know how hard this has been for you, but you're getting there. The world will come back into focus for you eventually. Just like it did for me."

"I've really enjoyed my time with you this weekend, Maria." He took her hand in his. "I feel connected again. You have such a gift. This house seems brighter just since you arrived. Until today, I hadn't even noticed that garden outside this window. Now I can't imagine that I didn't notice all those colors before."

"I'm glad I could help you. If I have learned anything from Ric's death, it's that nothing is more important than the people you love and who love you back. You have to let them in, Andrew. You have to let them be a shoulder to lean on. And when you're strong again, you can be there for them in return when they need it. It sounds like Victor has been a shoulder for you to lean on these past months."

"I would love for you to meet him. The plans aren't settled yet, but we'll be getting together one day this week. Would you consider joining us for dinner?"

Stephanie was shocked by his invitation. She never expected to be part of this meeting. Her job was to find out when it was going to happen. She knew that Ranger considered Giordano to be dangerous, but if she were going to accompany Andrew to the dinner, she would definitely know when and where. This could really help their chances of a successful apprehension. Her instincts were telling her that to accept might make Ranger angry. "I don't know, Andrew, are you sure? I would hate to impose on your business with your friend." _Oh Stephanie, what to do, what to do._

"It would mean so much to me for you to be there, Maria. We don't do any business at dinner. It's just social. Please consider coming."

"Okay, Andrew. I'd love to come." _What the hell did I just do? Damn, Ranger is going to be pissed. Uzbekistan here I come!_

"Great. I will be talking to Victor later this evening to set up our schedule. I'll have a firm date, place and time for you then. Is that alright?"

"Fine. I'm looking forward to meeting your friend." Stephanie looked at the clock on the desk. "I'm afraid I should be going soon. My mother-in-law will be bringing Carlos home around four o'clock. I'd like to be there before then."

"I understand perfectly. Let me help you pack up your things."

They returned to the kitchen and put everything back into the basket and cooler. Andrew handed Stephanie her portfolio and briefly clarified with her a few of his notes. Before he picked up the basket he took Stephanie's hand.

"Lunch was wonderful, Maria. I'm glad you insisted on it." He pulled her close and leaned down to her mouth. The kiss was sweet, but when he broke away his eyes were intense. He leaned in a second time and whispered over her lips. "I'm so glad we met." He kissed her again with more intensity. His hands wandered up her back, into her hair and ended up caressing her face as he broke away.

"You'll call me then?" Stephanie murmured, feeling overwhelmed.

"Yes, tonight" He grabbed her belongings and led her down the hall toward the front door.

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX…

Stephanie pulled her car into the garage, closed the door and ran directly upstairs to the bedroom. Ranger was not there yet, but he couldn't be far behind. She took off her sweater, removed the wire and was about to put the sweater back on when the bedroom door slammed shut. She jumped at the sound.

"What were you thinking?" Ranger's words were deceptively calm, but his body language was screaming. Stephanie was not surprised that he was mad; she expected it and actually thought he had a right to be, but it didn't matter. The minute he got her dander up, her Italian genes kicked in, and it was like watching a train wreck. She couldn't stop the angry words from spilling out of her mouth.

"I was doing my job!" she yelled defensively. She threw her sweater on the bed.

"Your job was to get the information about the meeting! I told you that Victor Giordano is a dangerous man. You should not be at that meeting!" Ranger's voice was raised and stern.

"It was the best way to make sure we got the correct information! If Andrew expects me to be there he will give me all the details!" She walked toward Ranger and stood shoulders back as if in defiance. "If I had said no to his invitation, it would've seemed suspicious for me to question him about the time and place!"

"You should have found another way!" He glared directly into her eyes.

"I couldn't think of another way at the time!" She glared directly back.

"Damn it, Stephanie, I don't want you anywhere near him!"

"It was the best choice and you know it! You said you would back my decisions." They stood almost nose-to-nose, neither one wanting to back down first.

Finally, Ranger backed off and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "You're killing me here, Babe." His shoulders slumped in resignation.

"I know, I'm sorry," Stephanie sighed. "I wasn't expecting Andrew to ask me to go the dinner. When he did, I thought about it. I really did. I didn't make this decision lightly. In the ten seconds that I had to form a response, every argument you just threw at me went through my head. When I agreed, I knew you would be angry, but I also knew that it was the best decision." She walked back over to the bed and picked up her sweater. "Listen, the dinner will be in a public place. They always go to a restaurant. I can't believe that Giordano would be dangerous out in public. And I won't be alone with him. I'll be with Andrew the whole time. You'll have back up there. I never have to be out of sight."

"I know that, but this is you we're talking about. You can attract trouble like no one else."

Stephanie put her sweater back on and sidled up to Ranger and rubbed her hands down his arms. "That is not new information. You have always taken good care of me on distraction jobs. This will be no different. Besides, you should be very good at planning for the unexpected. Look at all the practice I've given you over the last few years." She smiled coyly at him.

Ranger groaned. "Babe."

Thinking it would be a good time to change the subject, Stephanie asked, "Did the Merry Men come back here with you?"

"Yes, they're downstairs."

"Good, because I brought lots of that food back with me. Why don't you have them get it out of the car? We can eat and do something fun tonight. I need to get out of my Maria role. I want to get this perfume off and these contacts out. I want to be Stephanie for a while. Can we do that?"

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and spoke into her hair. "Sure, Babe." He kissed her temple and worked his lips down the side of her face then settled on her mouth. He begged entry and she opened letting their tongues dance and flirt suggestively. His hands wandered up the inside of her sweater and fondled her breasts.

His kisses and hands gave Stephanie definite ideas about what kind of fun they could be having, but it was nothing she wanted to share with the Merry Men downstairs… She spoke softly against his moving lips. "Ranger, why don't you go now and let me change, because if you don't go right now, I can't be held responsible for my actions even with your men in the house." She stepped away reluctantly and out of breath. "But I won't forget where we were just now, and we'll finish this later."

"Promise?"

"Steel trap!" She grinned.

…xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author Note: The story is about to take an interesting side trip. Keep reading, reviewing and enjoying. I am sooo motivated by the thoughts of my readers. Next update will be early Saturday morning.


	13. Chapter 13

This is my longest chapter yet. Ranger and Steph are going to take a brief vacation from the Giordano case. They've been working hard and deserve a break. Hopefully you will also enjoy the change of scenery and the addition of some new characters in the next few chapters.

Janet Evanovich has all the rights to the Stephanie Plum story. She worked hard so that we could enjoy.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 13**

The evening turned out to be great fun. After eating the lunch leftovers and a bunch of other things from the refrigerator, they all loaded up into three cars and headed back to Trenton for an early movie. The Merry Men drove their vehicles, because they would not be returning to Philly that night. Steph and Ranger took the Lexus because they would. Ranger thought that they should not be seen socializing out in public anywhere near Philadelphia. It was just too risky. Stephanie agreed that it was another one of his good ideas and after the movie they headed to Shorty's for pizza and beer.

"Oh, my god," Stephanie moaned. "This tastes and smells so good. I haven't had pizza in over a week. That must be some kind of record. Maybe that's why I agreed to go to dinner with Andrew earlier," she teased Ranger. "I was going through withdrawals, and I was confused." She took another bite and moaned again.

Four of the five men at her table stopped and stared. They rolled their eyes and discretely adjusted their pants. Hector was immune, but couldn't help wrapping his arms around her with a big grin on his face. Stephanie looked up from mid bite when she felt their eyes on her. "Oops! Sorry." The guys all just shook their heads and went back to their food and conversation. Stephanie's phone rang.

"Let me out." She nudged Ranger. "It's Andrew; I should take this outside where it's quiet." Ranger slid out of the seat and guided Stephanie to the door quickly. As soon as the restaurant door closed, she answered.

"Hi, Andrew."

"Hi, Maria. I didn't call too early did I? I didn't want to interrupt your evening with Carlos."

"No, not at all. I'm glad you called. This is a good time."

"Did you get him all settled in and down for the night?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't easy," she sighed. "He was all wound up from his day at the zoo. He wanted to eat his dinner with his hands like the chimpanzees. Bath time was a complete disaster. We had more water on the floor than in the tub, because he wanted to play like the elephants did." Stephanie rolled her eyes at Ranger as she spoke with Andrew. It was a good thing she had only just started drinking. She was still able to think on her feet.

"Sounds like you had your hands full this evening with Carlos. Were you able to get him into bed?"

"After being away from me for the weekend, the only way I was able to get Carlos into bed was to promise that he could sleep with me tonight." She was looking right into Ranger's eyes when she spoke. He raised one eyebrow in response to her statement. His hand slid up her back and rested on the nape of her neck. He moved his mouth to her ear and nibbled. Stephanie arched her neck and gasped.

"Maria, are you okay?"

"Yes…yes, I'm fine. I was just um…jogging up the stairs to make sure he was still asleep. I was in the kitchen putting a few things away." She grabbed the front of Ranger's shirt with her free hand and pushed him away with a stern look. He stepped back and gave her a sexy grin, but stayed close enough to listen to both sides of the conversation.

"I won't keep you, but I did talk to my friend Victor this evening, and we're planning to meet for dinner at the Ritz-Carlton on Friday evening. Does that work for you?"

"Friday sounds fine. What time?"

"I'll pick you up at 6:30. We're going to meet Victor at 7:00."

"Great, I'll be ready. Andrew, are you sure you want me to come? I would understand completely if you changed your mind."

"Nonsense, I really want you to come. I can't wait to introduce you to Victor." He hesitated for a moment. "Maria, I was wondering if you would like to go to a concert with me on Wednesday. The Philadelphia Orchestra is performing an outdoor concert in Dilworth Plaza at City Hall. I have special reserved seating because of the donations I make to the arts council. I think you would really enjoy it."

"That sounds wonderful, Andrew, I'll have to check the availability of a sitter because of it being a weekday. Can I let you know tomorrow?"

"Sure, just call my cell. I would need to pick you up around six o'clock. We could have dinner after the concert if you like. I would get you home by 11:00 at the latest."

"Okay, I'll talk to my brother or my mother-in-law and let you know tomorrow. Thank you for inviting me. It sounds like fun."

"Goodnight, Maria. I hope you sleep well with Carlos. If he's anything like Madison, you could be in for a rough night. She would squirm all over the bed and end up lying right on top of me."

Stephanie was picturing that with Ranger and her knees went weak. "He does tend to sleep close and his body is like a furnace, but I wouldn't give up my time with him for anything. It's like having a little piece of heaven right there in my bed." Stephanie gave Ranger a sexy smile of her own. "Goodnight, Andrew, I'll talk to you tomorrow." She closed the phone and grabbed Ranger by the shirt again. This time she pulled him close and hungrily attacked his mouth. When they came up for air, she breathed heavily against his lips. "How fast can you get me out of here?"

"That depends on how much more pizza you want to eat." He kissed her again.

"No more pizza," she huffed out as she kissed him back. "Just want you," she mumbled as she kissed her way down his neck. "We've been trying to get back to this all day."

"Dios, Babe, you smell so good." He kissed her senseless until they heard the restaurant door open. They stopped kissing, but stayed close.

"Everything okay, Boss?"

"Yes, Santos," Ranger said with a rough voice. He cleared his throat and stepped just slightly away from Stephanie. "That was Sullivan. The dinner is set for Friday at the Ritz-Carlton."

"Good to know." Lester couldn't resist "Hey, are you alright, Beautiful? You look a little…flushed."

"I'm fine, Les." She straightened up and walked toward the door purposefully avoiding eye contact with him. "Probably just a little too much...beer."

"Yeah, that must be it. Half a glass will do that to you every time. Are you sure you two are done _talking_?" he taunted as he held the door open for her.

"For now," she replied.

Ranger and Lester followed her in.

It was after ten o'clock when they left Shorty's and went their separate ways. Ranger settled Stephanie in the car and then held his finger up to indicate that he needed just one minute. He walked over to one of the SUV's to talk with Lester and Bobby. They spoke briefly, did the manly secret handshake thing, and within minutes, he was back in the car.

"What was that all about?"

"Just needed to let the guys know about a schedule change for tomorrow," he casually replied.

"Why do we need a schedule change?"

"We're going to be offline tomorrow and Tuesday."

"We are? Why?"

"I have plans for you."

"What kind of plans."

"Babe, do you know what day it is?"

"Yes, it's Sunday."

"Yes, it is, but do you know the date?"

"Um, actually, I've kinda lost track of the dates this past week. Why?"

"Tomorrow is October 12."

"It is? Really?"

"Really, and I am taking you away from here for your birthday."

"Wow, I completely spaced the date. Wait…what do you mean you're taking me away from here for my birthday? Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Raaanger, you know I hate surprises. Tell me where we're going."

"You may hate surprises, but I like making them for you, so I'm not telling."

"If we're going to be gone overnight, I'm going to need to pack. How will I know what to pack if I don't know where we're going?"

"Okay, that's a good point. You can pack your favorite dress to go dancing in, a pair of shoes to go with it and whatever you need for the shower and bathroom."

"That's it?"

"What about clothes...pajama's, shoes?"

Ranger just gave her a look. "Babe, you won't need pajamas."

"Okaaay," she smiled. "What about non-dancing clothes."

"Everything else you need, we'll get when we arrive."

Stephanie was pretty sure she wasn't going to get any more information out of Ranger. Really, she was dealing with the master of mystery here. She made one last attempt. "You know, it's not being very nice to the birthday girl to frustrate the living daylights out of her."

"Babe, you will love this. I promise. Do you trust me?"

"With my life."

"Then just relax and go with it."

"Relax and go with it? That sounds very Zen, Ranger. Relax and go with it. Hmmmm. I'll try, but I can't promise my Jersey girl curiosity won't get the better of me."

"Thank you."

They were quiet for a few minutes. "Ranger?"

"What, Babe?"

"What do you think I should do about the concert on Wednesday? I told Andrew I would call him tomorrow to let him know if I could find a sitter. I obviously don't need a sitter, but I wasn't sure I needed to add another date to this thing since we have the information for Friday night."

"What do your instincts tell you to do?"

"I knew you were going to say that!" She made a deep sigh. "I don't know. A big part of me doesn't want to add to the problem of his developing attraction for me. I don't like that part of the deception at all. But another part of me thinks that it would be best to cultivate his loyalty to me if I am going to face Victor Giordano next Friday night. I just have a funny feeling about that man. If it comes down to it, I want Andrew to want to protect me over helping his friend in any way if things go screwy with the takedown…and hello, your working with me here…. That could be very important."

"And…."

"And if I am going to keep my focus on the goal and not let my emotions dictate my path, then I should go to the concert on Wednesday."

"Ah, very good, Grasshopper!"

"You did not just say that!"

Ranger chuckled. "Sorry, it just sounded too good to pass up. Maybe I should have said very good, Eliza."

"Thank you, Professor Higgins." She sighed. "I'll call Andrew tomorrow."

"I'll call Tank, and he will take care of the team arrangements for back-up. Wednesday won't be such a big deal, but we have our work cut out for us on Friday night."

"Are you worried about Friday?"

"I always worry when you're involved."

Now, here's the thing. Stephanie could interpret this statement two ways. One, he could mean that because she was so incompetent that he had to worry about her making things go wrong. Or two, he cared about her, and his worry was for her safety. A couple of weeks ago, she would have assumed he meant number one. Today, she was pretty sure, if she asked, he would say number two. It was going to be a great birthday!

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX…

Shortly after midnight, Ranger delivered her first birthday present. And then he delivered her second and third in rapid succession. Her fourth gift was delivered at six am in the shower. By 7:30 they were out the door, meager luggage in hand and slightly exhausted.

"Carlos, this is the airport!"

Ranger just grinned. He pulled around to a service road and they drove right up to an open hanger. A tall blonde man, dressed in a very nice uniform, greeted them as they exited the car.

"Good morning, Mr. Manoso. We're all ready for take off. Looks like clear skies the entire trip."

"Thanks, Phil. This is Stephanie Plum. Babe, this is our pilot Phil Brandt."

"Nice to meet you, Phil. Where are you taking us today?"

"Nice try, Miss Plum, but I was warned about you. I'll just get your luggage and secure it on board. By the way, Miss Plum, happy birthday!" He turned to face Ranger. "Breakfast is in the galley as you requested, Mr. Manoso."

"Great, let's go."

Stephanie just stood there with her mouth open. "He was warned about me? Warned!" Ranger led her up the steps and into the plane. He sat her down in a very comfortable leather seat and buckled her in, dropping a kiss on her nose; then took the one next to her for himself. She just continued to stare at him in unbelief.

"Ranger, this is a private plane."

"Yes, it is."

"Is this your plane?"

"It belongs to the company. It's RangeMan's plane. As soon as we're in the air, we'll have breakfast."

The very smooth take-off was followed by a wonderful breakfast of fruit, bagels, juice, coffee and two perfect Boston Crème donuts. Beautifully written in pink icing were the words 'Happy', on one donut, and 'Birthday' on the other.

"I can't believe you had donuts decorated for my birthday! When did you plan all this?" She took a bite. "And, oh my god. Where did these come from? They are better than the ones from Tasty Pastry! Here, you have to try this cream." She scooped a finger full of cream from the center of her donut and held it to Ranger's mouth.

He slowly licked the cream off her finger and smiled. "You're playing with fire, Babe." He took his own finger, scooped up some more and carefully wiped it across Stephanie's lips. His eyes got dark as he leaned in to lick it off.

Stephanie moaned and that was all it took. Ranger pulled her up from the couch and, wrapping her in a tight, passionate embrace, moved them toward the back of the plane.

"Where are we going?" she asked between kisses.

"Bedroom," he whispered against her neck.

Stephanie stopped kissing and looked at him in disbelief. "You have a bedroom on this plane?"

"Mmmhmm. Want to check it out?" He reached behind his back and opened a door. He put the other hand around her waist and guided her into the room.

Stephanie turned her head to take in the view. "This is amazing," she smiled.

The room was cozy, but beautifully decorated in dark blue and cream fabrics. The bed was huge. It filled half the room and looked invitingly comfortable. There was enough of the room left to easily accommodate two upholstered chairs and a small table. Built into the interior wall was a dresser and cabinet unit that housed a large flat screen TV and an impressive selection of DVDs. The outside wall was all windows, flooding the room with morning light.

She turned back to Ranger who was standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. "It's beautiful."

Ranger had never lifted his eyes from her face. He was enjoying her surprised reaction. "Yes, you are." He leaned down and captured her with his lips so intensely that she moaned in response. His hands skillfully released each of the tiny pearl buttons down the front of her sweater, and his lips followed the path of newly revealed skin. "Dios, your skin is so soft and smooth." The vibrations of his voice against her skin sent shivers straight to her core. By the time he reached the bottom button he was on his knees, and he slowly removed the sweater dropping it to the floor, all the while showering her stomach with loving touches and gentle kisses.

Stephanie had her hands in his hair, and she lowered herself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. She wordlessly coaxed him to return his lips to hers as her hands made a move to unbutton his shirt. Ranger gripped both her hands in his and slowly lifted them over her head while leaning her back on to the bed. "No, Babe," he lovingly demanded as he continued to kiss his way back down her chest. "This is my job." He spent a few moments nipping, licking and teasing at the lace of her bra before he slid his hands firmly down her raised arms and sides. When they reached her hips, he teased his way across the top of her waist band with his tongue. His fingers deftly unbuttoned her jeans, and he pulled them off, sliding her low heeled shoes off in the process. He lifted her right leg, started at her toes and travelled north, rubbing, licking and kissing his way around her foot, ankle, then calf. When he reached her knee he, ever so slightly, drifted his fingers across the sensitive skin on the backside. He continued by paying homage to her thigh with warm open mouth kisses, slowly continuing upward, until he was inches from the top of her leg.

Stephanie was beyond stimulated by his actions. Every nerve ending in her body tingled in anticipation of his next move when he barely brushed his mouth and nose over the black lace still covering her. Exhaling a warm moist breath that made her stomach tighten, he carefully put her leg back down and started the whole process over with her left leg. She groaned in frustration. "Please, Carlos," was all she could produce.

"Please what, Babe?" He had already reached her knee.

"Please...don't...I feel...oh god...touch..." She knew the words may no sense, but she was helpless against the effect he was having on her brain. The words would not connect.

"Patience, Babe." He chuckled. "We'll get there together this time." Moments later he reached the apex of her thigh once again, but this time, when his face came close, he grabbed the lace with his teeth, and a low growl rumbled through his chest as he pulled them down and off. He rose to his feet and took in the magnificence of her body. "Beautiful."

Ranger stood over her with such affection and respect in his eyes that, instead of feeling self-conscious and exposed, Stephanie felt protected and cherished and was overwhelmed by the power of her emotions. This man. This amazing man…loved her. He trusted her enough to risk sharing his most intimate feelings with her. Having known him for the last three years and the privacy he held so dear, it spoke volumes about his commitment to her. She reached for him with a look of anxious desperation on her face.

Ranger quickly bent over her in concern. "Babe, what is it?" he whispered as he gently stroked her face.

"Carlos, It's just...I'm so happy. Please, don't stop," she begged.

Ranger kissed her lips in tender acknowledgement of her wishes. He broke away only long enough to remove his own clothes, but quickly returned to continue his devoted attention to her needs. "I won't stop, Amada. I want you to feel how much I cherish you. How essential you are to me." It wasn't long before Stephanie was, once again, unable to form coherent thoughts or sentences. Her body simply uninhibitedly responded to the erotic touches of his hands and mouth as he caressed and tantalized her body.

"Babe, let go, don't hold back...usted es tan hermoso, y cuando somos juntos como esto, yo le necesita sentirse cuánto te amo y entienda cómo usted me da la vida y el amor que pense que nunca tendria." (you are so beautiful, and when we are together like this, I need you to feel how much I love you and understand that you give me the life and love I thought I would never have.) She was so lost in the sensations he was creating, her mind barely registered the transition when Ranger slipped from his provocative utterances in English into his sensuously rhythmic Spanish verse that effectively deepened her arousal. He could have been reciting the Cuban national anthem, and it wouldn't have mattered. The cadence of his words in tandem with the sense of him, hard and pulsing, as he slowly entered her, sent her flying over the edge immediately. He continued to rock and thrust against her until she called out a second time taking him with her.

The mile-high club had a new charter member.

"Why can't I get enough of you, Babe?" he questioned in awe of the fact. "I have never felt like this with anyone before." They were comfortably entwined together, each slowly regaining their breath. He continued to place kisses on her face and neck.

"I don't know. I feel the same way. I have never felt more loved or treasured than I do when you love me." She lifted her head and kissed him deeply. "Thank you for this. If this plane turned around right now, and we went back home, this would still be the best birthday I have ever had."

"I want the entire day to be special for you. This was just breakfast," he grinned.

"Well, if you have this in mind for every meal, I won't complain, but I will be exhausted and hungry by dinner."

"Why don't we finish breakfast and then take a nap. It's a three-hour flight, and I have a very busy day scheduled for you."

They got up and finished breakfast without any more _interruptions_ and settled back in bed together.

"You know, Carlos, I would fall asleep a whole lot faster if I weren't lying here trying to guess where we were going?"

"Nice try, Babe, go to sleep."

They awoke to the captain's announcement that they would be landing in ten minutes. By the time they were on the ground, Stephanie had seen palm trees and blue ocean through the window. As they descended the stairs, she noticed a tall, blonde, muscle bound demi-god, wearing a RangeMan uniform, waiting with keys in hand. She suddenly stopped and turned to Ranger.

"We're in Miami?"

Ranger just flashed his 1000-watt grin, and they continued down the stairs.

"Hey, Boss, welcome home."

"Thanks, Tony. Good to see you back as well." They shook hands. "How's your sister doing?"

"As well as can be expected. She told me to tell you thank-you for the flowers."

"If there's anything else she needs, you let me or Tank know." He turned to Stephanie. "Babe, this is Tony. Tony, this is Stephanie Plum."

"Nice to meet you, Tony." She reached out her hand.

"Bombshell?" He looked at Ranger for confirmation. Ranger nodded. "Wow, it's an honor to meet you, Miss Plum." He eagerly took her hand and shook it enthusiastically. "You're kind of a legend down here at RangeMan. Lester and Bobby have been telling us stories about you for at least two years."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't know what they've been telling you, but most of it was not my fault, and I hardly ever shoot anyone."

Ranger chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Babe." He looked hard at Tony, who was still holding his woman's hand and staring at her like a love-struck schoolboy.

"Ugh, sorry, Boss," he mumbled, quickly dropping the hand. "Your car is right over here. I'll get your bags." He handed Ranger the keys.

"A Lamborghini?"

"Yeah, Babe, this is my Miami car."

"Your Miami car. So you drive a Porsche, or two, in Trenton, a Lamborghini in Miami. What the hell do you drive in Boston?"

"Ferrari!" he said with a wide grin and enthusiasm. "I like to mix things up!" He opened the door and helped her inside. In seconds, he was situated in the driver's seat.

"So fast cars and fast women. Is that your life?" she smiled over at him.

"Used to be," he replied with no hesitation. "I will always like my cars fast, but my taste in women has changed remarkably." He unbuckled her seatbelt and carefully pulled her across the console into his lap. "Babe, I won't lie to you. I lived a wild life for a lot of years. Most of the women I was with…I didn't even know their names and only saw them once or twice.

"You married Rachel."

"We were kids. I married Rachel out of obligation, not love." He absently played with Stephanie's hair; wrapping her curls around his finger. "You changed a lot of things for me. You make me want things I never wanted before."

"Like what?"

"Like time away from work, vacations, dates; a night at the movies with beer and pizza afterwards, dinner and dancing."

"Carlos, that's just normal, everyday stuff!" She looked shocked.

"For you it is, but not for me. I rarely do anything that isn't work or survival related. I eat when I have to, sleep when I must. I can't tell you the last time I took anything that remotely resembled a vacation. The last movie theatre I was in before yesterday was on a base in Europe. That was probably two years ago."

Stephanie was touched by his admission. "Sounds like you need my birthday trip more than I do." She ran her fingers along his jaw line and lips. She then kissed him sweetly. "I'm so glad we're here." She kissed him again and then giggled with all the excitement of a little girl. "I've never been to Miami before. What's first on the agenda for today?"

He gently placed her back in her seat and buckled her seat belt again. "Since it's almost ninety degrees here, and you are way overdressed for the heat, I'd say the mall should be our first stop and then some lunch."

"Oh boy, you really know how to show a girl a good time, Ranger." Stephanie was practically vibrating with anticipation. "Shopping and lunch are two of my favorite things."

They hit the mall running. Stephanie picked up a few pairs of shorts, a couple of tops, a sundress, two pairs of sandals, sunglasses, two bathing suits, and a purse. They were on their way to have a quick lunch, when a dress in a shop window caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks, catching Ranger off guard.

"What's wrong, Babe?"

"Nothing, I'm sorry. It's just…that dress is beautiful."

Ranger looked at the window. The dress was a striking blue silk that matched Stephanie's eyes. It was sleeveless with a deep v-neckline. The pleating detail in the front was capped by a thin, belted, empire waistline.

"You'd look great in that dress, Babe. Let's go in."

"Ranger, I don't need another dress, I brought that black one with me."

"Babe, let's just go in and try it on." He took her hand and pulled her into the store.

A sales associate approached them from across the room. She was about five and a half feet tall and had blue eyes. She was slim and stylishly dressed. Her hair was sun-kissed golden and sported chin-length bouncy curls that moved freely as she walked. Her legs were stunning, and she moved about in her four-inch heels as if they were as comfortable as ballet slippers on her feet. Stephanie was impressed when the woman's focus seemed to be on her and not Ranger. It was a refreshing change from the normal response she experienced when she was out with him.

"Hello, my name is Cindy," she said cheerfully. "May I help you?"

"Hello, Cindy," Ranger returned in a friendly greeting. "Stephanie would like to try on that dress in the window."

"Good choice. It's a beautiful dress. It's from our Versace collection. My guess is that you would need a size six?" she asked Stephanie directly.

"Thank you, Cindy, you're very sweet, but let's try an eight," Stephanie admitted.

"Okay." Cindy nodded and turned. She disappeared into a back room.

"Ranger, that's Versace! That dress is going to be too expensive. She walked over to the Mannequin and tugged on the price tag. Her eyes got huge. "It's $2300.00! I am not buying a $2300.00 dress!"

"You're right. You're not; I am. Now go try it on." He set the shopping bags down and sat in the 'husband chair'.

"Ranger, you can't buy me a $2300.00 dress. What will I do with it?"

"You'll wear it tonight…to dinner."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. He wasn't going to budge from that chair until she tried on the dress. "Fine, I'll try it on, but that's all."

Cindy returned with the dress in both sizes. She showed Steph to the dressing rooms.

"Believe me, Stephanie; I know my dresses, try the size six on first. Versace runs a little big. I really think the fit will be better in the six."

Stephanie put on the dress. She was stunned. It fit like it was tailor made just for her.

"How's it going in there, Stephanie, do you need any help?"

"No thanks, Cindy, it zips up the side, I got it."

"Here," she said, handing a box over the top of the door. "I brought you a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes to try on with it. I think they would be perfect with the dress. You're a size 6 1/2 aren't you?"

"Damn, you're good, Cindy. I bet you make your boss happy."

"I make the boss very happy," she laughed. "I'm the boss, this is my store."

"Well, you really know your stuff. I'm coming out." Stephanie stepped out of the dressing room, and Cindy gasped.

"Is there any way I could pay you to stand in my window for a few hours? I could sell 20 of these dresses if people saw you standing there in it."

Stephanie smiled. "You think it looks okay?"

"Honey, just walk out there and show your man. I bet his jaw hits the floor in record time."

Stephanie walked back to where Ranger was sitting. "Babe." He quickly rose from the chair, walked right up to her, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her the deepest, most romantic kiss ever. Without taking his eyes off the vision in front of him, he handed Cindy his credit card. "We want the shoes, too."

"Told ya!" She winked at Stephanie and turned to ring up the purchases.

"Are you sure, Carlos?" This is a lot of money. I didn't even see the price for the shoes, and you just bought me all those other clothes." She pointed to the bags.

"Babe, let me do this for you. Besides it's purely selfish on my part anyway."

"How's that?"

"I'm the one that gets to look at you all night in that dress. Every man in the restaurant is going to wish he were me. I may even have to add a security detail to our date just to keep the wolves at bay."

Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're just saying that to get me back in bed, you charmer."

"Is it working?"

"Yes."

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author Note: Again many thanks for the reviews. They are certainly inspiring and encourage me to write a better story for the readers. I will continue to answer each and every review. So if you have questions, concerns or insights please let me know. If you can take your time to write, I can certainly take my time to respond.


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own these characters. They are the creative genius of Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 14**

After a quick bite at a little café near Cindy's dress shop, they were back in the car.

"Now what?" Stephanie looked at him with energy to spare.

"Home."

"Home?"

"My house."

"Your house…here in Miami?"

"Yes. Let's get settled in, change clothes, and then decide what to do next."

"Sounds like a great plan."

Twenty minutes later they pulled into a very luxurious gated community. Stephanie marveled as one mansion after another took her breath away.

"Carlos, these homes are amazing. How long have you owned a home in this neighborhood?"

They pulled into a driveway and up to another gate. Ranger pressed a series of buttons on the security keypad.

"I bought this house right after Julie was kidnapped. I knew I wanted to spend more time with her down here, and I wanted to have a real home to bring her to; not an apartment at RangeMan headquarters."

Stephanie took his hand. "That's very sweet. Will we get a chance to see Julie while we're here?"

"I called Rachel yesterday and asked if we could pick her up after school tomorrow. We have to have her back by 7:30 so she can get her homework done before bed."

"That's wonderful. I can't wait to see her again."

Ranger lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. "Me too, Babe."

They pulled up to a Spanish style portico at the front entry to the house. Ranger got out of the car and opened Stephanie's door. He keyed in a code on another security keypad and opened the door. The front entry had marble floors. The woodwork was a rich deep mahogany that carried throughout the first floor as far a Stephanie could see. A large crystal chandelier hung in the foyer. Sunlight streamed in from everywhere.

"Carlos, this is really beautiful."

Ranger took her hand, and they toured the entire first floor. The house was massive. The entire back of the house was floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. The backyard terraced down from a patio, to a swimming pool, and then down again to an expansive green lawn ending at a gated exit to the beach. Stephanie had been blown away this morning, first with the plane, and then with the expensive car, and again with the shopping spree. This house had to be worth millions.

"Carlos, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me if you think it is none of my damn business, and I won't ask again. It's just that I'm really curious, okay?"

"Shoot, Babe,"

"I've known you for a few years, and I know you're not poor, but I never had the idea that you have this kind of money. Is RangeMan that successful?"

"The government contracts pay well. They actually hire RangeMan to do quite a bit in addition to the special ops missions that my core team is involved with. I started the business here in Miami. As business improved, I took on a partner, and we branched out to open new offices. I took Trenton, and my partner took Boston. We're looking at Atlanta now. Security is big business."

"So you originally came to Trenton just to start up the new office?"

"That was my intent."

"But the Trenton office has been running great for a couple of years now, and you're still living there. Why didn't you move back here to Miami?"

"Because I met you."

Stephanie swung her head around quickly to face him. She was stunned. "You stayed because of me?" Ranger nodded. "But…but I was with Joe…why did you…I know we've always had a connection…but, Carlos...I thought you were indifferent…you really stayed for me?"

Ranger took her face in his hands. "Babe, after I met you, and we began working together, I knew that if I was ever going to have a relationship with anyone, it would have to be you. So I stayed, and I waited."

Stephanie threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I so glad you did. I'm sorry we took so long to get here. It was idiotic of me to try to make things work with Joe. I knew a long time ago that we could never be what he wanted."

"It's okay, Babe, because I wouldn't have been ready for you yet. But now we're close to getting our someday, and I couldn't be happier." They kissed again. "Would you like to see the rest of the house?"

"Absolutely!"

They ran back out to the car to get their luggage and shopping bags and then climbed the massive staircase to the second floor. They passed four large, tastefully furnished, bedrooms. Stephanie smiled as she passed the one she was sure belonged to Julie. It was done in blues and purples. The walls were plastered with boy band and Twilight posters.

"You are so going to be in trouble when she's a teenager," she teased.

"Julie's a good girl. She's smart. She won't cause any trouble."

"Ha, that's what you think. She's beautiful, and she's _your_ daughter. She is trouble just waiting to mature. Look how protective you are of me. When you worry, I can't pee without RangeMan control knowing. And I'm not even your daughter. I'm just your…your…" Stephanie got a funny look on her face. "What am I?"

Ranger chuckled. He opened the large double doors at the end of the hallway and walked into the most beautiful bedroom Stephanie had ever seen. He dropped the luggage, took the bags from her hands and let those fall to the floor as well. He picked her up and carried her over to the bed. Laying her down, he rested his body over hers, putting the majority of his weight on his forearms. He gazed into her eyes holding them captive with an intensity she detected only in his most serious moments. "You, Amada, are my love, my breath, and my light. And I would protect you with my life." He leaned down and caressed her lips with his.

The intensity of his eyes was now magnified ten times in his kiss. Stephanie felt so much love and sincerity pouring from him. Her need to touch and be touched became overwhelming, and she shared her desire with him by pulling closer, demanding control of his mouth with her tongue. She was desperate as she broke contact just long enough to speak. "Make love to me, Carlos. I need you inside. I need your touch."

Ranger removed her clothing and then his own. He returned to their closeness. "Babe, you are so beautiful. I can't believe you're here with me. I've pictured you in this bed with me a thousand times, and you are more perfect than I even imagined. Promise me you'll stay. Promise me that you will be mine. Promise me you won't ever leave."

"I promise, Carlos, I could never leave you. You have my heart, and I wouldn't survive." Their words were so emotional tears were streaming down Stephanie's face and onto the bed. She didn't even notice.

Ranger wiped them away. "Sh sh sh, Nene, no llores. Te quiero y voy a proteger su corazon." (Sh sh sh, Babe, don't cry. I love you, and I will protect your heart.) He kissed her tear-stained face and made love to her again.

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…

Their afternoon was spent on the beach. After making a few phone calls (Ranger touched base with Tank, and Stephanie left a message for Andrew confirming the plans for Wednesday night), they packed up a few drinks in a small cooler, grabbed some towels and sun block, and headed out the back gate. The beach was deserted even though it was a warm day. It was October, and kids were back in school, and Ranger said that most of the beach was privately owned. They swam and played and kissed and enjoyed just being together.

"Babe?" Ranger asked as he was drawing imaginary circles on Stephanie's stomach.

"Hmmm?" Stephanie was relaxed, soaking up the sun.

"Do you remember the night, last week, when we spoke in my apartment after the first team meeting on the Giordano case?

"That was only a week ago? It seems like ages. So much has happened this past week. It feels like we've been together longer."

"Babe, you've been mine, in my mind, for more than a year."

"Really?" She sat up on her elbows and looked at him. "You must have been using the famous think system for relationships. You know like in the musical 'The Music Man'?" Ranger looked confused, so Stephanie explained. "In the story, a man claiming to be a famous band director comes to a small town and sells instruments to all the families for their children. He claims that he can teach any child to become a musical genius by using the 'think system'. They never practice, and he never gives instruction. He just tells them to think about playing everyday and eventually it would happen."

"That's ridiculous," Ranger scoffed.

"Ya think?"

"Point taken, Babe." He shook his head slowly, and his serious face returned. "Anyway, back to where I started this conversation. I told you then that my life wasn't my own."

"I remember." Stephanie sat up all the way and crossed her legs.

"That hasn't changed. I could still be called away."

"I know." She lowered her head and stared at her hands.

"I broke my own rule and let you in. I don't regret it, because what I feel for you couldn't be denied any longer. But I want you to know that, at any time, I might have to leave, and I can't say no. I want you to be prepared. I get very little notice. Not always, but sometimes I have to be packed and gone within an hour after receiving a call."

"Carlos, I went into this with my eyes wide open. I knew about your contract, and I knew about your reservations. I pushed for this relationship. If you get called away, I'll just have to put on my big girl panties and deal with it. But I promise you, that if you do have to go, I will be here when you come back home." She leaned up to kiss him.

"My contract is up in May. I won't be re-signing. After that, if we do any government work, it will be only the assignments of our own choosing. We won't take on any more black ops missions. Lester, Bobby, Tank and I all agreed."

"I know about that already. Lester told me that night when he took me home." She hurried to protect her friend. "Don't be mad at him, Carlos; he was a really good friend to me. He explained some things and gave me some great advice."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah, after he dropped you off, he came back to Haywood and called me on it. He told me that if I didn't get my shit together with you, he was going to declare open season on your availability. He also said that if I made you cry again, he would call my mother."

Stephanie laughed. "Oh god, Carlos, I don't know about the open season thing. That sounds a little creepy, and I think I should be insulted by it. But I can totally relate to the mother threat. You even used that same threat with me, and it worked pretty handily."

Ranger grinned. "Yeah, big, bad Manoso is afraid of his mother."

"We all are, Batman. I think it's a basic survival instinct." She looked down at her skin. "I think we better head inside. I don't want to burn, and it must be getting late. What's our schedule tonight?"

"I need you dressed and ready to go by seven o'clock. That gives you three hours."

"Perfect, if we go now, we'll have time for another nap." She winked.

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…

Two hours and forty-five minutes later, Stephanie had finished putting the final touches on her make-up. Earlier when she had stepped out of the shower, there had been a brand new bottle of Dolci Vita perfume sitting on the counter. Birthday Ranger had struck again. Now, she picked up the bottle and doused herself from head to toe. If felt good to wear her old familiar scent again. She slipped on her new dress and shoes, and then she started moving items from her handbag to a small clutch she had brought in her luggage. When she picked up her phone, she realized that when she had called Andrew earlier, she hadn't checked her messages. The display registered three missed calls, so she took a few minutes to listen to them.

"Hello, Stephanie, this is your mother." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Your father, grandma, and I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Come over for a special dinner and cake when you get back into town."

The next message was from Val, wishing her a happy birthday as well. The last message was from Connie and Lula, together singing what was absolutely the worst rendition of Happy Birthday she had ever heard. She was laughing as she disconnected. Stephanie turned and caught sight of Ranger watching her from the doorway. Her breath was completely taken away. He was wearing an Armani peak-lapel, black silk suit with a white silk shirt and a narrow black tie. He looked absolutely delicious.

"Wow, you look amazing!" She strolled up to him and placed her hands on his chest, gently grasping his lapels. "I think it might be illegal to go out looking this good. Maybe we should just stay in."

"Not on your life, Babe. I have plans for you tonight. I have two more birthday presents to give you this evening." He kissed her. "Dios, Babe, you smell amazing. I've missed this." He nuzzled his nose into her neck and kissed her again. "I want to give one of the presents to you now."

Stephanie protested adamantly. "Ranger, you have to stop! You can't keep giving me gifts. The money you spent today on me was outrageous. I saw the price tag on these shoes, by the way."

He put his finger on her lips. "Don't say another word yet. Just open the box."

Stephanie looked down, and in his left hand was a black velvet jewelry box.

She slowly reached and lifted the lid. Inside was a pair of diamond drop earrings. They were exquisite.

"Carlos, they're…stunning." She lifted one up. "This is platinum; it must have cost a fortune!" She sighed. "I love them, thank you."

"Will you wear them tonight?"

"Yes, they go great with the dress." She stood at the dressing table and switched out her original earrings with the ones Ranger had just given her. "I hope you weren't kidding about the security detail. I'm probably wearing over five thousand dollars in new merchandise tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if every crazy stalker in Miami found me. Hell, I bet even a few of the Trenton crazies made it down here for this."

"Don't even joke about that, Babe."

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX…

Ranger had made reservations for dinner at La Palme d' Or restaurant inside the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The lavish furnishings and grandeur of the building were awe-inspiring. The dining room donned crystal chandeliers, gilded mirrors on the walls and hand painted murals on the ceiling.

Stephanie was excited. It was like being in a palace. "Thank you for bringing me here." She kissed him. "It's beautiful." They were seated at a cozy table near a large window that overlooked the gardens and lighted fountains. "Have you been here before?"

"Once or twice. I brought a client here a couple of years ago. The service is excellent, the food is outstanding, and their wine list is the best in the city."

"After spending the afternoon on the beach, I'm starving." She glanced at the menu. "Everything looks so good. A lot of this is in French. Maybe you could help me translate so I don't order something creepy like brains or liver."

Ranger chuckled. "I'll make sure they don't bring us anything creepy."

"They have frog legs! I don't know if I could eat frog legs. Have you ever eaten them?"

"I have, but not in a restaurant. It was on a mission, and we spent several weeks in the jungle. We ate what we could find."

Stephanie made a face. "Well let's not bring back any unpleasant memories. I say we skip the frog legs."

"Done."

Ranger requested a bottle of 1995 Dom Perignon Champagne to start their evening. They ordered Lobster Bisque and Hungarian Mangalica Cured Ham with warm Garlic Toast as appetizers and followed with Braised Beef Short Ribs with Cauliflower Gratin and red wine for Stephanie and Seared Maine Halibut Filet with Green Asparagus and white wine for Ranger. For dessert they chose a Grand Marnier Soufflé and a Chocolate Molten Cake. Ranger had secretly arranged for the cake to come out with a lighted sparkle candle.

Stephanie was mostly thrilled with the dinner conversation. Ranger was allowing more of his personal life and childhood influences to surface. In the last twenty-four hours she had cultivated a much better notion of who Ricardo Carlos Manoso really was. Ranger was more relaxed here in Miami than she had ever seen him. Even though he continued daily communications with Tank and his core team, they were more for updates and he was allowing his team to plan and do most of the work.

After they finished dinner they took a stroll through the gardens. Stephanie had consumed several glasses of champagne and at least two glasses of wine. She was feeling relaxed, but slightly unsteady on her feet. Ranger supported her during their walk by keeping his arm around her waist. They found a secluded stone bench next to a fountain and sat. A gentle breeze gave the Miami night air fresh relief.

"Carlos," Stephanie sighed. "I've never been happier than I am right now." She smiled at him and leaned in to give him a kiss. She scooted closer and turned so that her back was against his chest. He wrapped both arms around her and nuzzled her neck. "I was so naïve when I married the Dick," she smirked. "I actually thought that after we married, he would stop playing around. I thought that the marriage would result in an assured commitment and my life would be happy. And then with Joe…" she hesitated. "I couldn't even go there. Every time we talked about marriage I found a reason to avoid making any kind of real plans for it." She turned to face him. "We have only been together a week and I want you to know that I trust you more than I have ever trusted anyone. I don't want to scare you; I'm not talking about needing or wanting marriage, I... I just want you to know that… I love you… I'm _in_ love with you… and that's never happened to me before. You are the most incredible man I have ever known and if all of this ended tomorrow I would have no regrets about what we've shared."

Ranger pulled her into his lap and lowered his lips to hers. "Dios, Babe," he whispered against her face. "I have no plans to end this. I have discovered a part of me that I thought was long gone. You found it buried deep inside me and brought it to light." He kissed her again, and it deepened quickly. Passion took control, and they came very close to ending the 'clothes on' part of the evening right there in the garden.

"Carlos, how firm is your plan for us to go dancing?" she whispered through her heavy breaths.

"It's your birthday, Babe, you choose." He continued running his hands over her body and kissing her throat.

"Take me home. Please."

Ranger didn't hesitate. He scooped her up and carried her through the garden and back to the valet parking stand. The car was summoned, and Ranger placed a hefty tip into the palm of the attendant. Stephanie couldn't keep her hands off him in the car. It was a miracle they made it home in one piece. Once inside the house they didn't even make it up the stairs. Clothes were peeled and dropped in a trail from the door to the couch. Ranger's words flowed from romantic broken English to forceful proclamations in Spanish. Stephanie allowed herself to be dominated by his powerful demands. He was in complete control of their movements and positions, but Stephanie never experienced neglect or exploitation. _Her _pleasure was his primary goal. She felt desired and coveted. After multiple releases and recoveries, they progressed upstairs and continued in the shower.

"You know," Stephanie muttered between kisses as they lay on the bed, finally at rest, "On the Oprah show, Dr. Oz said that having sex twelve times has the same cardio workout effect as running seven miles. And right now, I totally believe it." Ranger's hands started to wander. "Just think how efficient you could be with your busy schedule by having your morning workout and your shower at the same time."

"I like how you think, Babe." Ranger was moving his way down her body leaving nips and open kisses across her stomach. "I could encourage my entire staff to put the initiative into practice."

Stephanie giggled. "You would be one popular boss." Ranger moved lower. She moaned. "And you would have a very happy staff." She arched her hips toward his mouth. "Just think how relaxed your early staff meetings…ahhhh..."

The rest of the conversation consisted of unintelligible words.

It was just before midnight, and they were in the kitchen assembling a plate full of snacks and something to drink.

"Water or beer, Babe?"

"Water!" she replied adamantly. "No more alcohol. I don't want to need the cure tomorrow."

They sat close together at the kitchen table and fed each other fruit and cheese. Stephanie had also found a box of chocolate chip cookies and was nibbling on them as well.

"I have one last gift for you, Babe. I want you to have it before midnight, while it's still officially your birthday."

"Okay, I'm not going to complain anymore, as long as you promise this is the last one."

"I promise. Close your eyes."

"Really, Carlos…"

"Just close your eyes…please."

Stephanie closed her eyes. Ranger disappeared from the room briefly, and when he returned, he put an envelope on the table in front of her.

"Okay, open your eyes."

Stephanie slowly opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly. "Am I missing something?"

"Look down."

Stephanie looked at the table and picked up the envelope. She glanced back at Ranger and opened it, and then she removed an official looking document.

"What is this?" She continued her examination. "Carlos, is this the registration for the car I'm using in the Giordano case?"

"Yes,"

"I don't get it."

"Read the name of the owner."

"Stepha…." She paused. "This has my real name on it! I thought you had Tank register this in Maria Granger's name for my cover?"

"I did."

"What's this one for then?" She still looked utterly confused.

Ranger almost rolled his eyes. Almost. "This will be the official registration after the assignment is over."

"You mean the car will be mine? Like all-the-time mine? Not a RangeMan car?"

"Yours."

Tears poured down her face. "I love that car. I can't believe you bought me a car! Oh my God! I own a Lexus!" She hopped up from her chair and jumped into his lap. She covered his face with kisses. "I love you. Thank you!"

"Happy Birthday, Babe."

They sat for a while longer, embracing, kissing, and eating until Stephanie yawned.

"You're tired, Babe. Tomorrow is another big day. Let's go to bed."

"I know we're spending the afternoon with Julie, but what do you have planned for us in the morning?"

"When I'm finally finished with you in bed and the shower," he stated suggestively. "I thought we would head over to RangeMan so I can show you around."

They stood up and headed upstairs. "That would be great. Do you think Silvio will be in? It would be nice to see him again."

"Maybe. I don't know the schedule. Nick is in charge of the Miami office."

"I wanted to ask you about this earlier, but it has been such a whirlwind day since we got off the plane that I didn't have a chance to ask. When we landed this morning, we met Tony?"

"Yeah, Tony Barnes. What about him?"

"He was talking to you about his sister. What's going on there?"

Ranger sighed. "It's not a good story, Babe." They climbed into the bed and snuggled up against each other. "Tony has been a RangeMan employee for about three years; he's a good man. When both of his parents died in an accident about six months ago, he moved his younger sister to Miami. She was just finishing her first year of college somewhere in the Midwest. I think Indiana. They wanted to be closer, so he helped her transfer to the University of Miami. They even got an apartment together."

"That's nice. Do they have any other family?"

"No, it's just the two of them now. Anyway, this past spring RangeMan hired a new guy, Marcus Sandor…Ex-Marine. I only met him once. I thought he was kind of cocky, but his qualifications for the job were excellent. He received several commendations from his superiors before he left the service. He was partnered up with Tony right away. Nick told me the two men got along well and even hung out together outside of work. That's how he met Tony's sister Emily."

"Did they start dating?"

"Not exactly. According to Tony and the police report, Marcus showed up at the apartment one evening and convinced Emily that he was there to meet up with Tony. He said they were going to go out for the evening."

"Only Tony wasn't there?"

"No, and Tony didn't know anything about it. He was working an extra shift for another guy. Emily let him into the apartment to wait. She didn't have any reason not to. He had been to the apartment several times before, and he was Tony's friend. She trusted Sandor."

"Oh, god Carlos, what did he do?"

"He raped her." Ranger was making tight fists with both his hands. His knuckles were white.

Stephanie sighed. "I'm so sorry, Carlos. I know how responsible you feel for your employees. How is she? Was she injured? I mean other than the rape? Not that the rape wasn't bad enough, but did he do other damage?" She took his hands in hers and rubbed the knuckles to get him to relax.

"She had a lot of bruises, internal injuries, a broken wrist, and a black eye. She was in the hospital for a couple of days. Emily put up a good fight. Tony had taught her some basic self-defense skills, but Marcus is a big guy and highly trained in hand-to-hand combat techniques. She never had a chance against him. She's only 20 years old."

Stephanie could feel the tension in Ranger's body. "Where's this guy now? Was he arrested?"

"No. There's a warrant out for his arrest, but he hasn't been brought in. He knows this area well, and has quite a bit of family here. I'm sure they've been helping him stay hidden."

"I imagine you've had men looking for him. How long ago did this happen?"

"He attacked Emily two weeks ago. He's been seen a few times, but he knows our men and our tactics. He was one of us. I get daily updates about the situation. We will catch him."

"I know you will, Carlos." She kissed him on the cheek. "Let's get some sleep, okay?"

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….


	15. Chapter 15

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 15**

RangeMan's Miami office was a large multi-story building located just north of downtown Miami. Just like in Trenton, Ranger had an apartment on the top floor, but in this building that was the eighth floor not the seventh. There were two floors of apartments for employees, a gun range, control room, conference rooms, and workout room; all very similar to RangeMan Trenton. Miami even came with its own Ella and Luis. Mary and George lived on six and were responsible for maintaining the building and its men.

When Stephanie and Ranger stepped out of the elevator on the fifth floor, they were met by a very attractive man. He looked to be in his late thirties, typical hot RangeMan build, nicely tanned, maybe a couple of inches taller than Ranger's nearly six feet, sandy hair, intense green eyes and a killer smile bordered by a well-trimmed mustache and goatee.

"Carlos, how the hell are you?" The man approached with his hand extended.

"Good, Nick." They shook hands. "Nice to be back." He turned to Stephanie. "Babe, this is Nick Hodge. He runs the Miami office for us. Nick, this is Stephanie Plum."

Stephanie extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Nick."

"Damn, Ranger, this is Bombshell?" He took her hand enthusiastically. Stephanie rolled her eyes. "It's great to finally meet you, Ms. Plum. This bastard's been keeping you locked up in Trenton far too long. It's about time he dragged your ass down here for a proper introduction."

"Well, I don't know what Ranger has told you, but most of it is not true, I assure you. And please, call me Stephanie."

Stephanie noticed that her introduction had garnered some curious looks from across the floor. It was obvious curiosity was winning out over professionalism. She wasn't sure if it was her reputation or the fact that she was with the man of mystery.

"Hell, this guy," thumbing at Ranger, "has been as quiet as a whore in confession. We hear all about you from Santos, and Brown. Tank's even spun a few tales to us about the Bombshell adventures."

"Really?" Stephanie threw Ranger a _'we need to talk about this later' _look.

Ranger put a possessive arm around her waist and turned back to Nick. "What's the status on Sandor?"

"Tony filed a report this morning. I'm sure it's no surprise to you that the boy's damn motivated and has been putting a lot of his own time in on surveillance and research." Ranger nodded. "Sandor's been spending a lot of time at a bar called 'The Wild Horse Inn'. It's owned and operated by his family. An uncle, I believe. He has a lot of protection there. We don't know where he stays at night. He moves around like smoke." Nick rubbed his chin as if frustrated. "We can't get near him at the bar, even when we know he's there. He knows every one of our guys."

"He doesn't know me," Stephanie spoke up suggestively.

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"No!" Ranger was quick to reply.

"Why the hell not!" Stephanie retorted defensively.

"I didn't bring you down here to work." Ranger was calm but firm.

Nick was grinning, obviously enjoying the exchange between the mighty Manoso and his woman.

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Stephanie shouted that comeback a little louder than she intended, but her feathers had been ruffled and she was getting angry. There may have been audible gasps from some of the men across the room. All activity on the floor simultaneously ceased. Even though her eyes held Ranger's, she could feel the weight of the attention she had drawn with her response.

"We need to talk about this in my office, Babe." Ranger was giving her his 'serious' look.

"Fine." She straightened her shoulders and took three steps before coming to an abrupt halt. She swung her head over her shoulder and looked at Ranger. Holding onto her dignity by a thread, she asked, "Where is your office?"

"This way." He nodded, in the opposite direction. Stephanie did an about face and strutted purposefully in the direction of his office, Ranger guiding her with his hand resting on her lower back.

Once they entered and the door was closed, she laid into him.

"I can do this. You know I can." She said with force.

"That's not the point."

"What is the point, Carlos? Because if this is about you and I being together, and you not wanting me to be put into danger..."

"Babe,…okay, maybe that was my initial reaction. I'm trying to work on that. But it's not only us. Think about it. When I send you in for a distraction, I have half a dozen of my men inside, watching your every move and protecting you at multiple levels. We can't do that here. Sandor knows every man out there… including me. And before you say anything, there's no way in hell I'm sending you in alone!"

"I wouldn't ask you to. You make a good point."

Ranger was shocked. "I do?"

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah, you do. It would be foolish to go in alone. I know my limits in this situation. My good friend and mentor taught me that."

"Babe," He took her chin in his hand and kissed her. "Thank you."

"But, Ranger, we still may be able to work this out."

"What do you mean?" Ranger saw that look in her eyes. Wheels were turning.

"Well," She purred. "We don't have to be back in Philadelphia until tomorrow evening for my date with Andrew, right?"

"I've scheduled the plane to fly us out tomorrow morning."

"How fast can you get a few of our Trenton guys down here? By tonight maybe?"

"What are you thinking?"

"There has to be some of our guys from up there that Sandor won't recognize. He hasn't been at RangeMan that long. If they can be here tonight, they can be on the inside with me. We can still use the Miami guys for the takedown outside. We can put Marcus Sandor behind bars tonight and be on our way home in the morning."

Ranger was hesitant to agree. "Babe, nothing ever goes that easy when you're involved."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Listen, we can try tonight. If it doesn't work out, or he doesn't show, we still go home in the morning. We'll leave it up to your Miami guys, or we can come back and try again after we finish the Giordano case." He still didn't look convinced. "Carlos, if we have a chance at getting this guy off the street, we have to try. Do you really want Marcus Sandor running around loose in a city where your daughter lives?" Stephanie was pretty sure she had him there.

Ranger flipped open his phone and pushed a button. "Tank, get Cal, Hector and Bobby on a plane ASAP for Miami. I need them for a job tonight. They'll get their assignments when they arrive. Call Nick with their itinerary. He'll meet them at the airport." He flipped the phone closed.

"That's it?" Stephanie stood with her mouth open "You just took my advice on a case?"

"It's a good idea." Ranger replied. "And I want this guy off the street. Tony's sister shouldn't have to live in fear that he'll come back again."

"You have her protected, don't you?" She said with sudden realization.

"We've had RangeMan guarding her since she was in the hospital. It's the least we could do."

"Carlos Manoso, you are the most amazing man I have ever known." She stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Ranger put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Are you sure about this, Babe?"

"Very." She sighed. "You have made the last twenty-four hours the most incredible time of my life. I want to do this for you."

"Okay then. We need a plan. Let's get Nick and set up a meeting."

"Carlos, will we still be able to meet with Julie this afternoon?"

"I think so. We can't pick her up until she gets out of school at three o'clock. We'll spend some time with her, have dinner, and take her home by seven-thirty. That will give us plenty of time afterward for the takedown."

"Why don't we take her to the mall? Girls love the mall. While we're there, I can stop by Cindy's shop and see if she can fix me up with something appropriate for tonight."

Ranger growled. "That's a good idea, Babe. I love Cindy's shop. I saw some interesting lacy things when we were in there before." He nipped at her ear. "Maybe you could pick up some of that, too."

"I'm sure that would go over well with Rachel, when her daughter reports back that while she was out with you, she watched me purchase sexy lingerie!"

"I'll distract her with ice cream." Ranger wiggled his eyebrows.

"We'll see." Stephanie giggled. Ranger stepped away, opened his office door, and called for Nick.

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX…

Ranger and Stephanie spent the remainder of the morning working with the Miami RangeMan staff, planning the apprehension. Tony was instrumental in detailing Sandor's movements for the last two weeks. Ranger worked with Nick to put a surveillance, communications, and takedown team together. Stephanie took a file on Marcus Sandor and disappeared for a while into Ranger's office to get to know her subject and to do additional searches. At about noon Ranger walked into his office to find Stephanie poring over reports with a highlighter in hand.

"Carlos, would it be okay if I ask Nick and Tony some questions about Sandor?"

"Sure, Babe, I've told all the men to give you their full cooperation with your research. Do you want me to call them in?"

"Yeah, I found some things that I need clarification on."

Nick and Tony entered Ranger's office, and Stephanie asked them to take a seat.

"Nick," Stephanie began. "Who hired Marcus Sandor?"

"I interview and hire all the employees here."

"I know that in the Trenton office, when a potential hire is interviewed, a complete background check is also done. I take it that you have the same policy here?"

"Yeah, Stephanie, I gave you all the files on Sandor, including the background checks. What's up? Did you find a problem?"

"You gave me his service records from the Marines and his criminal background check, but not his high school or college records."

"We don't typically go back that far. I didn't know he went to college. He didn't list a college on his application.

"I noticed that, too. But he graduated from Southridge High School here in Miami in 2001, and he didn't enter the Marine boot camp until 2003. So I got a little curious about what he was doing for two years."

"What did you find, Babe?" Ranger loved to see Stephanie at work.

"Marcus Sandor was enrolled at a small college near Birmingham, Alabama from the fall of 2001 to December of 2002, when he quietly left after an incident involving the attempted rape of a girl in one of the dormitories. I didn't find the incident in his official school records, but the local newspaper ran a story with the details and names of the victim and suspect."

Nick just shook his head. "You mean this son-of-a-bitch has done this before?"

"Looks that way. His high school records show a history of trouble as well. His guardians there are listed as his aunt and uncle; the ones that own the bar. They are evidently quite wealthy, and I can only assume that when the incident at college occurred, the victim was either pressured, or paid off to drop the charges. I'm almost positive that in return for omitting the incident from his records, his uncle made a rather large donation to the university. He was even given a plaque to commemorate the event. The school paper ran a story on that as well."

'I'll be damned," Nick grunted. "None of this information made it to me. If it had, I would have never hired him."

"I know, Nick. It's just that I get these feelings when I look at a person's history, and it makes me dig in directions that most people wouldn't consider relevant. If it makes you feel any better, I'm wrong a lot. I got lucky today." Stephanie turned to Tony. "Tony, you've been doing the majority of the surveillance on Sandor, I see he drives a truck?"

Tony sat up straight. "Yeah, he drives a dark blue 2009 Dodge Ram. I've followed it several times."

"Does it have tinted windows?"

"Yeah, most of us drive trucks and cars with tinted windows, because we….

"Don't want to be seen or noticed?" She finished the sentence for him.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure it was Sandor in the truck when you followed it? Did you actually identify him as the driver?"

"Sometimes, not all the time," he admitted. "But I'm pretty sure it was always Marcus. The driver was his height and build and I recognized his clothes. We hung out enough together that I knew what he wore and how he dressed most of the time. Why?"

"Did you ever know him to drive a motorcycle?"

"I know he had one in high school. He used to talk about it all the time. But he doesn't own one now. We ran a search on his registered vehicles."

"I did a search of his credit card purchases in the last two weeks. He bought a helmet and a leather riding jacket the day after he attacked your sister." Stephanie picked up a report and glanced at it. "His cousin Jake owns a 2006 Suzuki GSX 9000. I have a picture of one here." She handed it to him. Tony grunted and threw himself back into the chair in disgust.

"I've seen a bike like this at the restaurant. I thought it belonged to one of the employees and didn't pay much attention to it other than that."

"Maybe Marcus has been driving the motorcycle and his cousin Jake has been driving the truck. They are about the same age and because they are related, they may have similar builds and stature. With a helmet, visor, and a jacket, it would be pretty easy to disguise who was driving the bike. Jake could easily be wearing Marcus's clothes and driving the truck around to throw off any tails."

"Damn, that's exactly what they've been doing. I am such an idiot." Tony was shaking his head berating himself.

Stephanie knew from experience that it wouldn't be productive to allow him to continue to wallow in self-pity. She needed him back on task. "Tony, do you have anyone following Marcus right now?"

Tony looked up, not having heard the whole request. "What?"

Stephanie repeated her question. "Who's following Sandor right now?"

Nick jumped in to answer. "We've had Alex on him all morning, but he's following the truck."

"Tony," Stephanie laid her hand on his arm. "Can you call Alex and get him up to speed? Have him check on the location of the motorcycle. Maybe we should have someone follow both vehicles for the day. We'll need to know who's really at the restaurant, if we're going to do this tonight."

Tony looked to Ranger and Nick for confirmation. He wasn't used to taking orders from a anyone else, let alone a woman. When they both nodded, he got up, and left the room. Stephanie just shook her head.

Nick stood up to leave. "Damn, Bombshell, you sure know how to shake up an investigation. Hell, Ranger, how do you keep up with this woman? She's a regular ball of fire."

Ranger just shook his head and chuckled. "I eat right and get plenty of exercise. If I ate like she did, I'd be three miles behind her all the time."

"I'll tell you, if she stays down here much longer, she's going to have this whole office going ass over teakettle." He shut the door as he left the room shaking his head the whole time.

"He's a very colorful man." Stephanie stood and put her arms around Rangers neck. "Speaking of eating, you have to feed me soon, or I won't be held responsible for my cranky attitude."

"You did good today, Babe. I 'm proud of you." He kissed her and nuzzled her neck. "I had Mary send a late lunch up to the apartment on eight. And if we go right now, we might have time for a little exercise as well."

"I don't need to be told twice. Let's go."

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX…

At 2:30 they took one of the RangeMan SUVs and headed to Julie's school. She attended a private catholic school near her home. When they pulled up to the front of the pick-up line, Julie was bouncing on her toes. She grabbed the back door and pulled it open, tossing her backpack in first, and then climbing in behind it.

"Hi, Ranger." She leaned over the seat and wrapped her arm around his neck. Stephanie had not seen the two of them together since that terrible day in her apartment with Scrog, and the look on his face was priceless. He adored this little girl.

"Hey, Jules." Ranger roughed up her hair. "How was school today?"

"Just okay. I really couldn't concentrate much. I just wanted school to be over so I could see you guys."

Stephanie put her hand on Julie's arm. "It's good to see you again, Julie, I've missed you. How have you been?"

"Good. I've missed you, too." Julie smiled at Stephanie. "Thanks for emailing me that picture of Rex. I made it the screen saver on my computer. He is soooo cute. I'm trying to talk mom into letting me get a hamster."

"Well, I highly recommend them." Stephanie replied. "They don't need to be walked, they're good listeners, and they never talk back!"

"Mom calls them rats with personality." She rolled her eyes. "What are we doing today?"

Ranger looked at her in the rearview mirror. "Stephanie thought you might like to go to the mall."

Julie got a huge smile on her face. "Can we go to Hot Topic? They have a new Twilight t-shirt that I want to get."

"I saw the posters in your room at Ranger's house, Julie. Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?"

Julie got a dreamy look on her face. "Definitely Team Jacob. He's sooo hot!"

Stephanie saw Ranger shift uncomfortably in his seat. He looked pained.

"Me, too," Stephanie admitted in her best girlfriend-to-girlfriend voice. "I think Edward is too pretty and kind of intense. And besides, Jacob has all those muscles!" she sighed.

"Yeah." Julie leaned back in the seat and blew out a heavy sigh.

By the time they reached the mall, Ranger had realized that his role was going to be package carrier and bill payer, but he didn't mind. He loved seeing Stephanie and Julie paling around like best friends. They were the two most important women in his life and just being with them together was enough to make the mall his new favorite place. They found the treasured Twilight t-shirt first thing. Julie got one in purple, and Stephanie got one in blue. They stopped in a pet store and spent twenty minutes looking at hamsters.

"None of them are as cute as Rex," Julie stated as she looked over each one. "I like how Rex has that white fur around his eyes. I don't see one like that here. I read in a book that hamsters only live three or four years. How old is Rex?"

"He was little when I got him so he must not have been very old then. I guess I've had him for three years." Stephanie had never thought about Rex dying of old age. She remembered how sad she was when one of her stalkers put a cat in his cage, and she thought he had been eaten. She knew in her head he couldn't live forever, but….

Julie saw the sadness in her eyes and tried to pull Stephanie out of her thoughts. "Maybe if I come up for Thanksgiving next month, I can visit him?"

"I'd like that, sweetie." Stephanie hugged her. "What do you say we go get some ice cream?" She looked up at Ranger and grinned.

Stephanie slipped away from Julie and Ranger to run her errands at Cindy's shop. After Stephanie filled her in on the details about what she was looking for, and why it was needed, Cindy helped her choose the perfect dress for her distraction job later that night. She even suggested the world's sexiest boots to go with it. Afterward, she happily showed Stephanie her stores selection of lingerie.

"Cindy, I don't see a ring on your finger. Are you single?"

"Yeah."

"Boyfriend?"

"Nothing serious. I dated a rep from one of my designer lines for a while, but it never really went anywhere. Why do you ask?"

"I work with a lot of single men."

"If any of them look half as hot as your guy, send 'em my way!"

"Oh believe me, RangeMan doesn't hire anyone average. They're all hot. I have someone particular in mind, though. This guy Marcus Sandor, that we're trying to apprehend tonight, attacked and raped the sister of one of Ranger's…Carlos's men. His name is Tony Barnes. He's very sweet and drop dead hot!" Stephanie got an idea. "Hold on a minute." She pulled out her phone and hit speed dial.

"Yo, Babe."

"Yo yourself. Would it be okay if I used your card to put together a little basket of goodies from Cindy's shop for Emily Barnes as a gift from RangeMan?"

"Babe, that would be great. I'm glad you thought of that, but you don't have to ask. I trust you."

"I know." She smiled. "I just don't want you to think I take you for granted."

"That thought would never cross my mind. What else have you bought?"

"That's a surprise," she teased. "I'm almost finished. Can you and Julie meet me here in about ten minutes?"

"We're on our way." He disconnected.

Stephanie closed the phone. "Okay, Cindy, give me one of your business cards and write your hours on it for tomorrow. I'm going to give you $200.00 to play with. Put together some kind of gift basket for a 20-year old college girl. I don't know her size, so I'll send her brother Tony to pick it up and he can work with you." She grinned at Cindy. "I can get him here, but what you do with him after that is all up to you."

Cindy was so excited her curls bounced. "Stephanie, you're the best! I'll take very good care of Emily, and I know just how to handle Mr. Barnes."

Stephanie signed the charge slip and turned around just in time to see Ranger and Julie enter the store. Ranger grabbed her bags and kissed her briefly. "Missed you," he whispered against her lips.

"Nice try mister, but you can't look in the bag," she whispered back.

"Babe." He grabbed the bags, acknowledged Cindy, and thanked her for her help.

To Ranger's great surprise and delight, Julie announced that she wanted to _'expand her experiences'_ of her Cuban roots by eating at an authentic Cuban restaurant. Ranger headed to Molina's Ranch Restaurant in Hialeah. The atmosphere was festive, and Julie got to hear Ranger speak with the Cuban owners in their native language. Stephanie was impressed that Julie ordered a dish that contained plantains and yucca. They continued their conversations about school and friends, movies and music, food and boys. The last topic made Ranger nervous, because Julie was showing way too much interest in a boy named Adam Kelly. He made a mental note to run a background check on the family. Noticing his distress, Stephanie took his hand under the table to show her support.

They ended their visit by returning Julie home and having a brief conversation with Rachel about the possibility of Julie coming to Trenton for Thanksgiving. Rachel didn't commit right away, but agreed to discuss it with her husband and let Ranger know.

"Do you think she had a good time?" Stephanie asked as they drove away.

"That was one of the best visits I've ever had with her." Ranger relaxed with a smile on his face.

"Really, 'cause I was afraid she might feel jealous that I was along. Maybe she would have preferred being with you alone."

"Babe, she loved you. You two were like best friends today. I've never seen Julie so relaxed with me before. To tell you the truth, I think I scare her sometimes."

Stephanie covered his hand with hers. "Carlos, the girl I saw today was not scared of you. She adores you! I think it just takes time to get comfortable with each other. This relationship is new for both of you, and you don't get to see her that often. I see my father all the time, and we still aren't that comfortable around each other, but I know he loves me and would do anything for me. Julie knows that, too."

When they returned to RangeMan headquarters it was eight o'clock, and Bobby, Hector, and Cal had arrived and were getting a rundown of events for the evening. A call from the surveillance team confirmed that Sandor was at the bar. Bobby was going to head over to the Wild Horse to get settled in as a customer in order to keep an eye on things and scope out the place. Stephanie was going to enter the bar at 10:00 looking hotter than hell. Instead of seeking the suspect out right away, she was going to garner some negative attention from Cal and Hector, who would be posing as bar patrons on the hunt. The damsel in distress scenario was how Stephanie wanted to play it tonight.

"You all have your assignments. Remember this guy is not an FTA, he's wanted for arrest, and we don't have the authority to bring him in. All we can do is detain him and give the police the chance to come in and make the arrest. I've notified my contact at Miami-Dade PD and they will have officers on site to take over custody after we subdue him. Any questions?" There was nothing. "We take off at 2130 hours. Dismissed."

As the men started to leave the conference room, Stephanie caught up with Hector. "Hector, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Chica, what do you need?"

She handed him a small stun gun. "Do you think it would be possible to fit this inside something common? Something that would look normal to be carrying in my hand at a bar. Like maybe an empty cigarette package?"

Hector's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, Chica, you are very clever. I have never done this before, but I don't see why we could not. I would have to cut out a place for the trigger, so you could still turn it on, but you would only have to keep that covered with your finger."

"I have to go upstairs and get dressed. Would you work on that for me? Do you think you have time?"

"No problem. I will see what I can do."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Hector, I appreciate it. I just have a funny feeling about this guy tonight…and the dress I'll be wearing...well let's just say there's no room for a gun."

"Don't worry, Steph, we got your back. We won't let anything happen to you."

"I know, you guys are the best, and I'm really glad you're here. I mean it. This is just a precaution." She smiled at Hector and took off to catch the elevator.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	16. Chapter 16

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 16**

Stephanie entered Ranger's apartment on eight and took a quick shower. She had purchased a few items at the mall that she knew she would need and wouldn't have time to go back to the house to pick up. The distraction look for the evening would be sexy, wild, and suggestive. She rubbed some product into her hair and dried it, letting her curls go where they wanted and then pinned part of her hair up allowing several curls to fall down the sides and back. She lined her eyes and smudged it to create a smoky look and deepened her lids to match, and, finally, she completed her make-up by putting on several layers of mascara on her eyelashes and a fire engine red gloss on her lips. She shimmied into the dress that Cindy had helped her select for the occasion; a skin tight, soft black leather halter mini dress with a deep plunging neck. The wire would be tricky but doable. Because the dress was backless, she couldn't wear a bra, but she was able to slide on the silky lace thong she had bought earlier. She finished off the outfit with four-inch, stiletto heeled, satin knee high rhinestone-studded boots that fit snuggly to her calves. Just as she decided she was ready, Ranger walked into the bedroom.

He froze just inside the doorway. "Dios, Babe, what have you got on?"

"You think it's too much? Is it too slutty? Not slutty enough?" Ranger didn't answer right away. Stephanie began to panic. "Carlos, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Babe, It's just that I had to get some perspective. You look…. Sandor doesn't stand a chance, and neither do I." He took two strides across the room and pulled her into his arms. He ran his hands up and down her exposed back. "Remind me later to send Cindy flowers. This is the 'damn sexy' look I want you to save just for me, and I can't believe I have to share you with my men and a bar full of drunks."

"If it makes you feel any better, what I have underneath is just for you..." The high heels on the boots put her eye to eye with him, and she locked her gaze, "...and nobody else." She knew it meant re-applying lipstick, but she thought it was worth it, so she seductively leaned in and kissed him deeply. When she stepped back, she used her finger to remove the stain from Ranger's lips. "I think I'm ready."

"For what?" Ranger replied huskily.

Stephanie smacked his arm playfully. "To leave, don't we have to go now?"

"The rest of the team has already left. I told them we would be there by 10:00. We need to put your wire on." Ranger smirked as he dangled it in front of her. "I get to do it this time." He held up the wire and tape and looked her over. "I think I'll come in from behind." He spun her around toward the dresser and, through the side of her halter, slid the wire into place under her right breast. Stephanie took in a gasp of air as his hands deftly felt for the right position. She watched him in the mirror as he came in from the other side to apply the tape. Her nipples perked up and stood out through the supple leather fabric.

"Carlos, if you keep that up we're going to be very late." He kissed the back of her neck and stepped away. He pulled something out of his pocket.

"Hector asked me to give this to you. He said it was your idea." Ranger smiled and handed her the stun gun hidden in the cigarette package.

"Yeah." She smiled handling the weapon. "I wanted some way to carry this as inconspicuously as possible. He did a good job. Huh, there are even two cigarettes in here. Would it fool you?"

"It already did. When he handed it to me I thought he was giving me a real pack of cigarettes for you. If this works out okay, we'll have to add this to our arsenal at RangeMan." Ranger looked up at her. "You ready to go, Babe?"

"Yes, let's do this thing." She touched up her lipstick, grabbed her clutch, put the stun gun inside, and headed to the door with Ranger.

Ranger pulled the Lamborghini into the parking lot of the Wild Horse Inn and cut the motor. "Remember, Babe, just get him out the door and try to step away. The team is here to do the rest." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips, then reached into her dress to turn on the wire. Stephanie never took her eyes off him. "Go get 'em, tiger."

Stephanie stepped out of the car and headed to the entrance. Ranger heard the comments of his men as she made progress through the parking lot. In the midst of all the whistles, catcalls and groans of appreciation, he heard one comment that sounded like 'lucky bastard'. He just shook his head in amusement. "Enough." He finally ordered authoritatively through the mic. There was immediate silence.

Stephanie entered the bar portion of the inn and immediately sought out Bobby. He nodded slightly in the direction of the small room toward the back that contained two pool tables. She took a seat at a small table near the entrance to that room and, when a waitress came by, she ordered a drink. After five or so minutes, she made a big show of looking annoyed that someone she was supposed to meet was late. She checked the time on her cell phone and even made an unsuccessful call that went to voicemail. She left a message asking, "Where the hell are you?" and "I'm waiting." She voiced it loud enough for others to hear her displeasure at being stood up. Another ten minutes went by, and another drink was ordered. When she thought her message of being stood up was clear, Stephanie huffed her way over to the jukebox looking thoroughly put out, dropped some money in, and selected a couple of tunes to play. Cal approached her from behind as she swayed to the music.

"Hey, baby," He schmoozed into her ear. "You look a little lonely. I can fix that."

"No thanks." She replied without turning. "I'm waiting for someone."

"But he's not here, and I am." Cal persisted. He ran his hand down her arm. Stephanie shied away.

"I said no thanks." She responded a little more harshly. "He's just late."

Cal continued the pressure. "I would never make you wait. A fine piece of ass like you shouldn't have to wait for anyone." He grabbed her butt and squeezed.

Stephanie jumped. "Listen, I said no! Now fuck off."

As she backed away from Cal, she backed right into Hector who had come up behind her. "Hey Chica, you're being rude to my friend here. He's a nice guy." Hector put his hands around her waist and sniffed her neck. "Damn, she smells good, too, amigo. You can't let this one go."

Between Hector and Cal they had effectively allowed Stephanie only one way to retreat and that was directly into the pool table room. She skirted into the room and approached Marcus Sandor looking desperate.

"Hey," She cozied up next to him and spoke. "I know you don't know me from Adam, but these guys are giving me the creeps. Could you maybe help me out? I think my date stood me up, and I feel like it's open season in there."

Sandor smiled at her. "No problem, honey." He put his arm around her shoulder and looked back at Cal and Hector. "The lady's with me. Take a hike."

Hector punched Cal in the arm. "Better luck next time, amigo." They sauntered off in disappointment and took a seat at a table close by.

Stephanie sighed in relief. "Thanks, I really appreciate it. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Now what kind of a man lets his date buy the drinks? What are you drinking?"

"Rum and coke." She smiled and looked around the room. "Doesn't look like you've got much of a game going on here. How about we play?"

"Sure. I'll rack 'em up." He motioned for the waitress and ordered two more drinks.

They spent the next half hour playing pool. Stephanie took every opportunity to position herself in some very provocative positions that showed off her assets. She even feigned ignorance on a couple of shots that required him to give very personal instruction. The whole time he continued ordering her drinks. Typically in a distraction, a Merry Man was at the bar assuring that her drinks were weak. They did not have this kind of control here, and she had to be careful in how much she consumed. She was a cheap drunk and had trouble holding her liquor. When she realized she had him hooked, she played up her drunkenness and started leaning against him for support.

"I think you've gotten me a bit tipsy. I should go home."

"You can't drive like that. Why don't you let me make sure you get home? You can come back tomorrow and pick up your car. I could call you a cab."

"No cab. I can drive myself." She stood away from the table and swayed. "I'm not very steady on my feet, but I could probably make it home okay."

"I think you better let me take care of you tonight. It would be a shame to see a pretty little thing like you end up in a ditch." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in tight.

"But I don't really know you," Stephanie replied, coyly. "We haven't even introduced ourselves." She slowly walked her fingers up his chest.

"That's easy enough to take care of. I'm Marcus. What's your name?"

"Marcus, that sounds like a nice name. My name is Tina. It's short for Christina, but my friends all call me Tina." She giggled. "Are you a trustworthy guy, Marcus?"

"I'm safe enough." He winked. Stephanie almost threw up in her mouth. "My family owns this place." Marcus assured her. "I'll take you home."

"Are you sure?" Stephanie ran her hand down his thigh. "I bet your girlfriend won't be happy about you taking me home."

"I don't have a girlfriend." He grinned. "But I'm always looking for someone who might want to fill the position." He put his nose into her neck and nipped her ear.

"Really," Stephanie almost purred. "You're too hot not to have a girlfriend. Are you taking applications, 'cause I'd like to apply?" Stephanie internally rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe the corny garbage coming out of her mouth, but he seemed to be eating it up. "I'll tell you what, why don't we go back to my place, and you can go over my…qualifications."

"I like that idea. You can show me some of your experience." He growled.

Stephanie reached over to the edge of the pool table and grabbed her clutch purse. She opened it and nonchalantly pulled out the cigarette package. Marcus guided her through the bar and toward a back door. When they reached a deserted hallway, he stopped abruptly and pulled her to him. He crashed his mouth down to hers and hungrily forced her mouth open. Stephanie panicked momentarily, but quickly recovered and, not too forcefully, pushed him back. "Hey, why don't you slow down? Wait till we get to my apartment. This isn't a very private place for an interview." She hoped that by remaining playful, he would move along.

"I don't want to wait. I have a room upstairs. We can go there." His hands were everywhere, groping her body.

Stephanie definitely did not want to move this upstairs. "But if we go to my place, I have lots of toys we can have fun with." She desperately continued with her friendly coaxing. "Come on take me home. I'll make it worth your while."

"I don't need toys. I can show you a good time without toys." He was walking her backwards toward a stairway, as his hands on her body were wandering and becoming more aggressive.

Stephanie was losing the battle. Going upstairs was not an option. She knew Bobby, Hector and Cal had to be close by waiting for instructions to step in. She just didn't know how long she could wait. The disguised stun gun was still in her hand, but she would have to put physical distance between her body and his. She was debating her situation all in a matter of seconds, when the decision was made for her.

"What the hell is this?" Sandor had discovered her wire while groping her breasts. He knew exactly what it was. He was trained. He was angry. "Who the hell are you, bitch?" He grabbed her around the neck and pulled her up against his body. She couldn't wait any longer.

Stephanie jammed the cigarette package into their tightly joined thighs and pushed the trigger. She felt a tingle and everything went black.

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX..

The world came back into focus slowly. Sounds returned before vision. She could hear several voices. Men. They were serious and intense. Stephanie took a moment to try to makes sense of what she was hearing.

"What the hell happened? Where is she?" Stephanie recognized Ranger's voice. He sounded panicked. She thought that was unusual for him.

"Roll him over and get the cuffs on the bastard. Check for weapons. The cops are waiting for him outside." Maybe that was Nick. She wasn't sure.

"He's coming around. Bobby, get her out of here. Now!" Ranger again. She wanted to speak. She wanted to let him know she was okay, but her mouth wouldn't obey her thoughts. She felt like she was struggling to reach the surface after a deep dive into water and couldn't find her way up. Suddenly her body was lifted, and she felt safe. Protected. The air around her became warm. She groaned, and it was the first noise she could identify as her own.

"Bomber? Steph? Are you with me?"

"Bobby?" She was able to weakly produce.

"Hey, sweetheart. It's okay. You're going to be okay. How do you feel?"

Stephanie slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. "Where am I? What the hell happened?" She tried to sit up but the pressure in her head and a pain in her right hand stopped her cold.

"Stay down for a few minutes, sweetie. You've been stunned, but it's wearing off." He lifted her hand and examined it. "Looks like you have a minor burn on your hand. What do you remember?" Bobby had been a medic in the service before he joined Ranger's Special Forces unit. He was assessing Stephanie for further physical damage. Stephanie struggled to remember as he checked her heart and slipped on a blood pressure cuff.

"Um," Stephanie thought for a moment. "I was trying to get Sandor to take me home. I couldn't get him to leave the building. He wanted to go upstairs. I remember thinking that was a bad thing."

Bobby chuckled. "You're right, honey, that would have been a bad thing." He was gently stroking her hair. "Do you remember anything after that?"

Stephanie closed her eyes and tried to visualize what happened next. She opened her eyes in panic as she remembered the anger on Marcus Sandor's face. She looked at Bobby. "He discovered my wire. He figured out it was a set up. He was pissed. He pulled me up against him with his arm around my neck. I wasn't sure how much time I had before he got too violent, so I stunned him in the thigh. It was the only part of him I could reach."

"You did good, Babe." Stephanie was lying up against Bobby inside the back end of one of RangeMan's large SUVs. There was a blanket draped over her body. Ranger must have been standing off to the side. Stephanie swung her head around to see him and smiled. He stepped forward as he spoke and took her hand. "How do you feel?" He looked at Bobby. "Is she okay?"

Bobby gave Ranger his official report. "She should be fine. I imagine she has quite a headache, but her memory seems to be good. Her heart rate is normal, blood pressure is slightly elevated. She's still a bit shaky, but that's to be expected." He turned to Stephanie and gave her a teasing smile and wink as he playfully remarked, "she took the voltage from her own stun gun, something Hal might get a kick out of hearing about."

Stephanie stuck her tongue out at him in mock annoyance. Ranger cleared his throat, and Bobby quickly returned to his attention to Ranger to continue his professional report. "Since Sandor fell on top of her when he went down, she'll probably be achy tomorrow, but nothing that a hot shower and some ibuprofen won't help. There's a burn on her right hand. I'll get the first aid kit and treat it."

"Thanks, Bobby." Ranger nodded. Bobby slipped out from under Stephanie and Ranger replaced him as her support, never letting go of her hand.

"Carlos, I'm sorry. I tried to get him outside. I didn't want to go upstairs. I …"

"Babe." He stopped her. "You were great. I'm sorry you were hurt. We didn't know about the room he had upstairs."

"Where is he now?"

"Miami-Dade PD took him into custody. He's gone." Ranger stroked her face lovingly. His own face showed concern.

"I guess the cigarette stun gun disguise worked?" She questioned him.

"Yeah, it worked." He chuckled. "Hector might have to rethink the real cigarettes, though. They both lit inside the package when you triggered it to stun." He held up the partially burned package."

"That explains the hand." Stephanie raised her hand to show Ranger the burn. "I must have held onto it after I blacked out."

Ranger took her hand and kissed it, but didn't take his eyes off hers. Words weren't necessary. Stephanie could see the pain, concern, relief and love.

Bobby reappeared with a bottle of water, a couple of Advil, and a first aid kit. He encouraged Stephanie to take the pills right away and began to treat her hand. He applied a soothing ointment and gently wrapped it in some gauze.

"The burn is pretty minor. It will be sore like the rest of you for a couple of days, but it will heal quickly. You may not even blister much." Bobby gathered up his supplies, but looked troubled.

"Bobby, what's wrong?" Stephanie took his hand.

"We should have gotten to you sooner, Steph." His eyes were full of regret and guilt. "I'm sorry. We were trying to keep a safe distance, so he wouldn't suspect a trap. When we heard him discover the wire, we moved right away, but, by the time we got to your location, you were already down. We thought…. We thought he'd hurt you."

"I'm okay, Bobby! This...," she waved her hand in illustration, "...is nothing. Job hazard. The important thing is that Sandor is finally in custody." Stephanie decided to lighten the mood. She didn't want the guys to feel like they had let her down. "Besides," She grinned, "what I really want to know is…" she pulled the blanket away from her legs and lifted one in the air. "How do you guys like these boots? They're sexy as hell, aren't they?"

Bobby let out a full-bodied laugh. "Yeah, Bomber, they are that. Every guy in that bar was looking at those legs."

"Damn straight." Stephanie sharply replied.

Bobby picked up his equipment and kissed Stephanie on the cheek. "Get some sleep, Steph. We'll see you at RangeMan in the morning. We're flying back with you after the debriefing.

"Thanks, Bobby." He did the complicated guy handshake thing with Ranger and walked away.

Stephanie turned to Ranger who was still sitting against her with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "Do I have to make a statement to the police?"

"No, I had Bobby remove you from the scene before the police were brought in. Unofficially my contact at Miami-Dade PD knows what went down inside, but, _officially_, you were not part of the arrest. Cal and Hector are giving statements."

"I know Tony was here as part of the team. How's he doing?"

"He would have beat the hell out of Sandor if we'd let him. But since you rendered him unconscious, it wouldn't have been very rewarding for him. He was content to accidentally bump Sandor into a few walls on his way out the door." Ranger got that almost smile on his face.

Stephanie reached up and put her arms around Ranger's neck. He pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly. "Are you okay, Babe?" He whispered. "It sounded pretty intense in there."

Stephanie allowed a tear to fall. "I feel…a little dirty. Used…maybe even ashamed. I know none of it is rational." She wiped her tear. "I can't even imagine how Emily must have felt with him. How she must feel now." She sniffed to strengthen her resolve. "But we got the bastard, and that's a good thing."

"I love you, Babe."

"I know." Ranger bent down and kissed her. His whole body relaxed when she responded. "Carlos, can we go home now?"

"Yeah, Babe." He stood off the back of the SUV, lifted her, still wearing in the blanket, and carried her over to his car.

When they returned to the house, Stephanie took a quick shower and then settled into the Jacuzzi bath. She wanted to pre-empt some of the aches and pains she had been warned about. She was very relaxed and was just about to fall asleep in the tub when the door opened, and Ranger came in with a smile and some wine.

"What some company?"

"You read my mind. Someday you're going to have to explain the whole damn ESP thing you've got going."

Ranger stripped off his clothes and stepped into the water behind her. Stephanie leaned forward to give him room, and he settled himself with his arms wrapped around her once again.

"Is the water warm enough for you?" He asked.

"It's fine. But you feel even better."

Ranger spent the next half hour stroking her hair and whispering Spanish sweetness into her ear. Between the wine, the warmth, and the words, it wasn't long before Stephanie fell asleep."

She awoke the next morning with only a vague recollection of how she got from the tub to the bed. She was wrapped in the plush robe she had found in the closet the day before. Her hand had been re-bandaged after the bath, and she groaned at the thought of what her hair looked like after sleeping on it wet. Ranger was gone. She slowly climbed out of the bed and headed into the bathroom, discovering new aches with every step. Twenty minutes later she emerged with her curls contained, her make-up on, and her body still slightly sore. She searched the closet for something to wear. They would start out in warm, sunny Miami this morning, but would end the day back in Philadelphia. She went with the sundress that she had purchased at the mall, but grabbed a sweater that she could wear if it was cool up north. Ranger popped into the room with a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, and two Advil just as she finished dressing.

He smiled at her and gave her a kiss. "Good morning, Babe. How are you feeling today?" He handed her the water and the pills. She swallowed them immediately. He then handed her the coffee.

"Thanks for the coffee." She took a sip. "I slept well, but I'm a little stiff this morning. My hand still burns, but the headache is gone." She turned toward the closet. "I want to pack but I don't have a suitcase big enough to carry all the things we bought here."

"Just leave most of it here. We'll be back again. That way you'll have some clothes already here." He grabbed a duffle and began packing a few of his own things. He picked up the clothes he had discarded the night before and tripped over one of Stephanie's boots. "Babe?"

Stephanie stepped out of the closet. "Yes?"

"Pack the boots…and the dress." He grinned.

…XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…XXX…

Ranger and Stephanie walked into RangeMan shortly before nine o'clock. There was a 30-minute debriefing on the results of the mission the night before. Since Nick was currently managing RangeMan Miami, Ranger allowed him to run the meeting. Everyone made report, and, overall, it was decided that the mission was successful. Hector and one of the Miami guys planned to research the cigarette disguise and find a safer alternative for future use. It was a good idea, but the resulting injury required that it be investigated for improvement.

As the meeting was dismissed and the conference room cleared, Tony approached Stephanie with a bit of hesitation.

"Bombshell, could I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure, Tony, I need to see you, too."

Tony guided her down the hall and into a small office. He reached over the desk and picked up a large bouquet of tropical flowers. Tony was nervous as he spoke. "I want to thank you for everything you did for my sister." He handed her the flowers. "We wouldn't have Marcus in custody if it weren't for you. This has been a really difficult time for Emily, and I hope that once we get the trial and all this mess behind us, she can start to heal and reclaim some normalcy back into her life. Thanks to you, she doesn't live in constant fear anymore."

"Tony, these are really beautiful." She reached up to hug him. "But you don't have to thank me. I was glad I could help."

"I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Don't worry about that. You just take good care of your sister. She's lucky to have you." She smiled at him. "By the way," Stephanie reached into her purse and pulled out Cindy's business card. "Ranger and I picked out some things for Emily. My friend Cindy has a shop near here, and she's expecting you to come by and pick it up today. Her hours are on the back." She handed Tony the card and gave him a sly grin. "Cindy is single and very attractive."

Tony blushed. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

There was a knock on the office door and then it opened. "Babe, you ready to go? We have a plane to catch."

"I'm coming." She hugged Tony one last time and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks again for the flowers. Take care of Emily." She turned and followed Ranger into the hall.

As they walked to the elevator, Ranger gave the flowers a speculative look. "Should I be worried?"

"What?" Stephanie feigned innocence "You mean these?" She acknowledged the bouquet.

Ranger lifted a single eyebrow.

"Jealous, Ranger?"

"I don't do jealous. I just eliminate the competition." He growled. The elevator doors opened.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	17. Chapter 17

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 17**

The flight back to Philadelphia was the exact opposite of the flight into Miami. Stephanie and Ranger no longer had the plane, or its glorious bedroom, to themselves since Bobby, Hector and Cal were aboard. Tank had faxed Ranger enough paperwork to kill an entire forest. After take-off, he quickly settled into a chair and got down to business. Never one to sit still longer than a few minutes, except to sleep, Stephanie quickly became bored.

Hector noticed her restlessness. "Chica, how about a game of poker?"

"You have cards?"

"Yeah, they're here somewhere." He went into the small kitchenette and opened a cabinet. He returned with a box that contained cards and poker chips."

"Looks like we got ourselves a game." Cal clapped his hands together in anticipation. He cleared the dining table and offered Stephanie a seat.

Bobby joined in, took the cards and began to shuffle as Hector passed out the chips.

"It's been a while since I've played poker. You may have to refresh my memory." Stephanie admitted.

"No problem, Bombshell," Bobby chuckled, "it's like riding a bike."

The game began and before they knew it, the pilot was announcing their descent into Philadelphia, Stephanie was ten thousand dollars richer, and the Merry Men were left shaking their heads.

"Gentlemen," Bobby lamented good-naturedly as he stood and stretched. "I think we've been had by the pretty lady!"

The other two men grunted in agreement. Hurricane Stephanie had just whipped their butts.

When they stepped off the plane Lester and Tank were waiting next to two RangeMan SUV's. Lester greeted Stephanie with a kiss on the cheek.

"Good to see you back, Beautiful." Lester teased. "Things were getting quite dull around here. Heard you shook things up in Miami, though."

"Hey, that's not fair, Les. Not one single car was destroyed in Miami, and I didn't shoot anyone! On the Stephanie Richter scale, I'd say the trip was less than a 4.0!"

Ranger put an arm around her waist and leaned closely into her ear and whispered. "Not in the bedroom, Babe."

Stephanie blushed and tried to recover. "What's the plan? I'm starving."

Ranger answered. "Hector and Cal are headed back to Trenton. Bobby, Lester and Tank are staying here in Philly for your meeting tonight with Sullivan."

"Lunch is in the car." Lester looked over at the SUV he had driven. "Ella packed that thing with fresh supplies for the house."

"We'll head back to the house, have lunch, and get organized for this evening." Ranger ordered.

Luggage was loaded into the cars, and Cal and Hector took off. Ranger and Stephanie drove the Lexus and headed back to the house, with Tank, Bobby and Lester following behind in the Escalade. Stephanie spent the car ride trying to get back into focus on her Maria Granger role. The last few days had been an incredibly wonderful diversion, but now it was time to return to the job at hand.

When they reached the house, they unpacked the car, put away all the new supplies and sat down to the scrumptious lunch Ella had sent.

"Babe, tonight Bobby will be close by. He'll be in the audience at the concert. Tank has arranged for him and his date to be seated in the reserved section as well."

Stephanie looked up at Bobby in surprise. "Your date?"

"Yeah, Bombshell. I have a good friend who lives here in Philadelphia. She's coming along as part of my cover. Not many guys would attend a concert like this alone."

Lester snorted. "Not _any_ guy would go to a symphony concert alone!"

Stephanie was curious. "So who is this _'friend'_?"

"Just someone I've known for a while. We went to college together."

"What's her name?"

Bobby huffed at the inquisition. "Her name is Adria, okay? She's a writer."

"Is she pretty?"

Bobby rolled his eyes. "I guess so…yes she's pretty."

"Did you two date?" Stephanie was enjoying the teasing. She had a big smile on her face. Lester had a big grin on his face as well. Tank was chuckling. Ranger was shaking his head.

"We dated in college." Bobby was exasperated. "Geez, Bombshell, what is it with the interrogation? Don't _you_ have a date to get ready for?"

"Just curious." She quipped and took another bite of her lunch. "What will the rest of you be doing tonight?"

"Lester and Tank are monitoring and recording communications. I'll…be around." Ranger uttered cryptically.

"Hmmm…Is there anything specific you want me to try to achieve this evening? Do you need more information about the dinner on Friday?"

"We know the dinner is at the Ritz-Carlton. The problem is that Giordano is also staying at the Ritz-Carlton. That means, more than likely, he won't be leaving the building. We were hoping to apprehend him in a less public setting. If we can't get to him, we may need to follow him back to New York and try for a different angle. Just see if you can get Sullivan to give you any more personal information about Giordano."

"Will do." Finished with her lunch, Steph scooted back from the table and carried her dishes to the kitchen. "I'm going to take a shower. Bobby will you re-bandage my hand when I'm done?"

"Sure thing, Bombshell."

By five o'clock all of the guys had left the house to get ready for the evening job. Ranger stayed behind. He was scheduled to leave after Sullivan picked up Stephanie. It was supposed to be a bit cooler this evening and with the concert being outdoors, Stephanie chose a pair of lightweight tan wool slacks and a matching satin camisole covered with a hunter green, wrap around cashmere belted draped cardigan. She added tan pumps, the signature perfume, light make-up and some earrings. She also returned to wearing the locket she had intentionally left behind when they traveled to Miami.

"Welcome back, Maria Granger." Stephanie sighed as she checked her look in the mirror one final time.

Ranger walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "It won't be much longer Babe. Hopefully we'll finish up this assignment by the weekend."

"I hope so. I'm going to have an identity crisis if I have to do this much longer. I'm running out of ideas for conversation about my imaginary son. Between my nieces and Mary Lou's boys, I only have so much experience to draw from."

Ranger pulled her into his arms. "You're doing great, Babe." He lifted her right hand gently. "How does your hand feel?"

"It still burns a little and it's stiff. The salve that Bobby put on helps, though."

He placed a soft kiss on the bandage. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"I still need my wire."

"Got it right here." Ranger playfully secured the wire under the satin tank top. When it was in place, he kissed her thoroughly and then switched it on. Five minutes later the doorbell rang.

"Hi, Andrew!" Stephanie welcomed him enthusiastically as she opened the door.

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Have you had a good week so far?"

"Yes, I have actually."

"What did you do for your birthday?"

"My birth….how did you know?" Stephanie was a little freaked out by this. Was he checking up on her? Did he suspect something?

"I'm sorry, Maria. I wasn't being nosy. It's just that when I was going over your financial statements the other day, your birth date was listed in the paperwork. I only noticed it because it was so close to the current date. I'm sorry if I've acted inappropriately, but I brought you something." He held up a small jewelry box. "Happy Birthday."

"Oh no, Andrew, I'm not upset. It just caught me off guard. I can't believe you knew it was my birthday." She reached up to take the box from him. "This is very sweet."

"Maria, what happened?" He took her hand in his, studying the bandage.

"I'm such a klutz. I burned it on a pan in the kitchen last night. It's not as bad as it looks; the bandage just helps keep the burn cream on."

"Are you sure? Did you have a doctor look at it?" His voice was full of concern.

"No, really Andrew it's fine. Just a minor burn that's all." She was trying to sound reassuring.

"Promise you'll let me know if it hurts too much."

"I promise." She said with a smile. "Can I open the box now?"

"Yes!"

Stephanie lifted the black velvet lid. Inside was a beautiful silver cable bracelet with three diamond studs set in. "Andrew, it's lovely." She lifted the bracelet from its cushion and attempted to open the clasp to put it on. She fumbled, and his hands appeared immediately.

"Here, let me help." He deftly opened and secured the clasp. When he finished he held onto her hand and wrist with both of his hands. "I knew this would look lovely on you."

Stephanie looked up into his eyes. "Thank you." She almost whispered. "It's beautiful."

"No, this is just jewelry. It's only beautiful, because you're wearing it." He slowly slid one of his hands up her arm and around her neck and pulled her face towards his. He brushed his lips gently over hers, almost asking permission for the kiss. Stephanie leaned slightly towards him and he took that as acceptance. He increased the pressure and the intensity of the kiss by taking her fully into his arms. After several seconds he broke away. "I've been thinking about that kiss for three days."

"How was it?" Stephanie smiled.

"Better than my imagination." He smiled back.

"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you." She stepped back away from the embrace. "Should we be going?"

"Yes. Are you ready? Where's your son?"

"Carlos is with Lester. They're having dinner at Chuckie Cheese, and then they're going back to his house to spend the night. They left here all excited; something about a 'Sponge Bob' video marathon."

Andrew chuckled. "Wow, pizza with a mouse and Sponge Bob! I think I'm definitely getting the better deal tonight."

During the drive downtown, Stephanie worried and schemed. The kiss at the house was extremely passionate. That and the expensive gift, convinced her that Andrew was letting her know, in no uncertain terms, where he wanted to go with this relationship. She was going to have to maintain an awkward balance tonight between keeping Andrew interested and keeping him at bay. The kicker was that she would have a full complement of Merry Men listening to, and sometimes watching, her every response, both physical and verbal. She had talked to Carlos about this very concern, and he had assured her that he could deal with it. She couldn't help but think about the way she would feel if their situation was reversed. There was no way she could watch or listen to him kissing another woman and not go crazy. It wouldn't matter if it were an assignment. Her green-eyed monster would rear its ugly head. But Ranger had a lot of experience watching and listening to her play with skips during distractions. He only ever lost control if things got out of hand and she was hurt. Still…this felt more like she was living a double life.

"Have you been to the symphony before, Maria?"

Andrews's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Uh, No. Not since I was a kid, and we went on a school field trip." She laughed. "My friends and I thought it was boring as hell."

"We don't have to go if you don't think you'll like it. We could do something else."

"No!" She almost yelled. Stephanie did not want any schedule changes. "I have a much broader appreciation of music now than I did when I was 13. I'm excited to do this. I'm really looking forward to it." She took his hand lacing her fingers with his. "I'm glad you asked me out again."

The reserved seating section of the concert included cushioned outdoor loveseats and access to a hospitality tent that offered champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Stephanie looked around periodically but couldn't locate Bobby and his date. Just before the concert started, she and Andrew were exiting the tent with a plate of goodies and drinks. Stephanie heard an unmistakable laugh and turned toward it to see Bobby smiling and laughing intimately with a beautiful woman. Stephanie watched as they found their seats. She felt better knowing where to find him if necessary. She studied them for a moment. Not that any of the Merry Men could be considered anything less than handsome, but Bobby was certainly one that drew the attention of every woman in the vicinity. His skin was a flawless creamy milk chocolate. His intense brown eyes, long lashes, and sexy mouth mirrored the warmth and compassion Stephanie equated with what she knew of his personality and bedside manner. His body was sinful perfection. Adria, his date, had glossy, long, brown, curly hair, similar to Stephanie's, but it was a couple of shades darker than hers. Stephanie couldn't see the color of her eyes from where she stood, but she could see that they were vibrant and friendly and regarded Bobby with affection. She was tall, slender, and graceful in her movements. Her skin was fair, but strikingly tanned. Her body appeared to have an almost magnetic pull toward Bobby's that made Stephanie silently sigh in awe as she took in the vision of this attractive couple. Bobby caught Stephanie staring and gave her an almost imperceptible nod.

During the concert, Andrew sat with his arm around Stephanie's shoulder. He would occasionally take her hand and carefully caress her fingers, always being careful of her injury. When the concert ended, they remained seated while others exited.

"That was wonderful." Stephanie confessed. "I was amazed at the number of pieces I recognized. I don't think I ever realized before how much classical music has filtered into the mainstream of our culture."

"You'll find classical music in commercials, movies; rock stars even pay homage to the classics in some of their most popular hits." Andrew commented. "How are you feeling? Would you still like to go to dinner?"

"I'm really fine, Andrew, stop worrying." She assured him. "And yes, as nice as this was, we haven't had much of a chance to talk. Maybe we could find someplace quiet with good food."

"I think I know just the place." He helped her gather her things and placed his hand at her lower back to guide her through the crowd. "There's a little restaurant not far from here called Alexander's. They have a great dessert menu, too."

When they reached the car, Andrew led Stephanie to the passenger side. Before he opened the door, he turned her toward him, lifted her chin, and kissed her. As the kiss deepened, he leaned her up against the door and took her face in both her hands. When he released her lips, his mouth traveled down the side of her neck placing passionate open mouth kisses along the way. His hands wandered down her arms to her hips. He pulled her tight against his groin, and he returned to kiss her lips again.

Stephanie was briefly stunned but regained her composure enough to gently push him back. She looked up at him. "You think you can deter me from dinner that easily?" She said playfully. "Not a chance mister. Get in the car. I want to see that great dessert menu."

Andrew stepped back putting his hands up in surrender. "Hey you can't blame a guy for trying." He opened her door, and she stepped into the car.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

They found a nicely secluded table at the restaurant. The waitress brought them drinks and took their order.

"Andrew, why don't you tell me about Marissa."

Andrew shot up a look of surprise. "What do you mean? What do you want to know?"

"It's only that I've shared so much with you about Ric and Carlos. I'd like to know more about what Marissa was like. What attracted you to her? Did she have a job? I don't know. You can tell me anything you choose."

"Marissa had the soul of an angel. She loved people and never had a bad thought about anyone. She adored Madison and was a wonderful mother." The last statement was delivered somewhat defensively.

"I'm sure she was." Stephanie reassured him. "I can see that she meant a great deal to you." She waited a few moments and took a drink. "Andrew, how did the accident happen?" She put her hand on his. "If it's too painful, I'll understand. We don't have to talk about it."

Andrew thought for a long time. When he decided to speak, he looked up at Stephanie with a great deal of sadness in his eyes. "Marissa was leaving me that night." He stopped. Stephanie tightened her hold on his hand. "When I look back on it now, I can see that we were drifting apart. It wasn't obvious. There were no arguments. I think she just started to withdraw from me at some point. Maybe I was too involved in my work to notice. I don't know." He sounded frustrated. "But that night she came to me and announced that she was taking Madison and moving out. I was shocked. I couldn't think. I begged her to explain. She said she loved me, but there was someone else that she needed to be with. Someone who could give her what I hadn't." He took a drink. "I was furious, confused. I said things I didn't mean. When there was nothing left to say, Marissa went upstairs, got Madison out of bed and put her in the car. I asked her to stay, to try to work things out. But she just cried and said that it was too late." Andrew looked down at the table. "That was the last time I saw them…..pulling out of the garage into the rain. About an hour later, the police showed up at the door and told me about the accident. Marissa ran a red light and was….they were both killed instantly."

Stephanie was holding back tears. "I'm so sorry, Andrew."

"I never knew." He whispered.

"Never knew?"

He spoke a little louder. "I never knew she was unhappy. I never knew where she was headed…who she was leaving me for. I spent days going through her things, looking for some clue…a name…an address. I needed someone to blame. Someone to pay. This unknown man that destroyed my family…I never found out who it was."

"Is that important?"

"I don't know. It was important then. Now? Maybe." He shook off his thoughts. "Well, that's something I've never told anyone before. Not even Victor."

"Thank you for sharing it with me. Are you all right? Would you like to leave?"

"I'm okay. I want to be here with you." He put his hand on her cheek. "You are so beautiful, Maria. I feel good again around you." He smiled with a warmth that melted Stephanie's heart.

The waitress returned and put their food on the table. Their conversation turned to lighter matters. After dessert, Andrew paid the bill, and they left.

As they rode in the car, Stephanie thought it would be a good time to try to get a little more information about Victor Giordano.

"I'm looking forward to having dinner with you and your friend Victor on Friday. Did you tell him that you invited me?"

"Yes, Victor said he would make the dinner extra special because you were coming. He's looking forward to meeting you as well."

"Do you think he'll bring a date, too?"

"Victor? I don't think so. He didn't say he would. He's been different lately. More subdued you might say. The last time we got together, he was distracted. I think he may be having some issues with his family." Andrew almost chuckled. "You know, I've known Victor for nearly 15 years, and I don't know that much about his family. He was always evasive when it came to talking about them."

"Have you ever met them?"

"I met his sister once. She was a little pushy. She came to visit Victor at college for a weekend. I think she's married now. Like I said, Victor doesn't talk about them much."

Andrew pulled the car into the driveway. He shut off the engine but didn't get out of the car right away. He turned to Stephanie and put his hand on her face and leaned in to kiss her. He was tender and passionate once again. He unbuckled her seat belt, moved his hands to her waist and pulled her into his lap never breaking from the kiss. He tightened his embrace and his hands roamed to the front of her sweater. He loosened the tie and moved his hands over the satin camisole. "Maria," he whispered against her lips. "Let me stay tonight."

Stephanie was breathless by this point. Her mind was racing. Her heart pounding with the confusion she was experiencing. "Andrew, it's…it's not a good time for me."

Andrew stopped kissing her and sat back. "I'm sorry, am I being too pushy...is it too soon?"

"No." Stephanie assured him. "I don't mean it that way. What I mean is… it's not a good time of the month for me." She blushed.

"Oh." Andrew raised his eyebrows. "I understand."

"Can I have a rain check on that idea, though?" She shyly responded.

"You just say the word, Sweetheart." He grinned and kissed her again before returning her to her seat and exiting the car.

Once safely locked in the house, the tears began. They came uncontrollably and without warning. In an instant Ranger had her in his arms and carried her up the stairs.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. I don't even know why I'm crying." She sobbed through her tears.

"Sh, sh, sh querida." Ranger took her sweater off and carefully removed the wire. It was obvious to the men listening that he had Stephanie in his care and they could go home for the night. He didn't bother with the phone call.

Stephanie must have fallen asleep at some point, because when she opened her eyes the room was dark, and she was tucked comfortably under the covers. She could feel Ranger's arm across her stomach and hear his steady breathing. She knew it was probably futile, but she tried to quietly disengage herself from his hold. He immediately came awake and tightened his grip around her waist.

She reached her hand to his face to soothe his alarmed response. "I'll be right back."

He released his grip, and she scooted out of the bed and went to the bathroom. She was only wearing the satin camisole and her panties. As the memory of her crying jag resurfaced, Stephanie thought about not turning on the light. She really wanted to avoid looking in the mirror. She was pretty sure her eyes would be puffy and red; her makeup smeared and running down her face. But the room was too dark to navigate safely, and she relented.

"Ughch!" She quickly grabbed a washcloth, moistened it with cool water and tried to fix or at least minimize the damage. She took care of business, drank a large glass of water and returned to the bedroom.

Ranger was awake and waiting. She climbed back into bed and he wrapped her in his arms, once again.

"You better be glad it's dark in here, Carlos, I'm not a pretty sight." She sighed.

"You're beautiful."

"Yeah? Well that's the magical deception of a room only lit by moonlight. In the bathroom, I look like Shrek! Minus the horns, of course."

Ranger chuckled and they were silent for a moment.

"Babe, are you okay?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing you heard my conversation and everything…..with Andrew tonight."

Ranger nodded.

"How… did it make you feel?" She asked hesitantly.

"It was….difficult to listen to."

"Why?"

"Because you were in a very uncomfortable position, and I put you there. And as much as I wanted to step in and stop the whole damn thing…. As badly as I wanted to take you away from his touch and bring you back here where it would just be you and me…I couldn't. I had to trust you to do your job, and you did." He ran his hand over her cheek. "Babe, I was so proud of you tonight."

"I don't feel pride, Carlos. I feel…I feel…like a predator. I feel like a user. I'm not deceiving the bad guy here. I'm deceiving a man who did nothing more than love his wife and child. A wife who was planning on leaving him. I'm playing with his feelings. She played with his feelings. I'm taking advantage of his pain. He's an innocent bystander in this scenario, and he will be hurt, again, by my tactics." She was on the verge of tears.

"Babe, there is no good way to do this. Giordano needs to be captured. We have found his weak link. In the end…yes, Sullivan is going to be the collateral damage, but we will have Giordano back in jail."

"It hurts."

"I know." He soothed her with his hands. "You feel things so deeply. You care about people. You are a good person who has to do a shitty job right now."

"I wish I were stronger, like you. I hate that I fall apart like this."

Ranger sat up and leaned his back against the headboard. He ran his hand through his hair as if frustrated. "You are so much stronger than me, Babe. You think it's weak to show emotion. It's not. I've been trained to hide it. It's easier not to face the emotions behind my decisions. To lock them out and look only at finishing the job. It takes a strong person to recognize and deal with the feelings you're expressing and still do the job. I envy that about you. It's honest." He relaxed a little bit. "I spent a lot of time hiding and ignoring my feelings and emotions for you. I wasn't strong. I was a coward."

Stephanie sat up and climbed into Ranger's lap. She put her arms around his neck and brought her lips close to his. "You didn't hide _all_ your feelings, Carlos." She kissed him. "I seem to recall a certain amount of poaching." She kissed him again.

"You didn't object." He kissed her back.

"No, I didn't." She nibbled her way down his neck.

Stephanie could feel his excitement building. He was wearing only his black silk boxers. Her hands slid down his powerful chest and slipped under the elastic band to push them down. He lifted his hips off the bed to assist her. When he was free, she rose on her knees and, not willing to break the intimate contact of their face to face arrangement; she tugged the crotch of her panties to the side and came down on him in one effortless movement. She gasped at the sensation that shot through her body. Ranger put his hands on her waist and began a rhythm that mimicked the dance their tongues were performing.

"I love you, Carlos." She whispered into his lips.

"Dios, Babe, a veces no pueden acercarse lo suficiente para usted. Te amo." ("God, Babe, sometimes I can't get close enough to you. I love you.")

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	18. Chapter 18

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 18**

When Stephanie awoke the next morning, she smelled something wonderful. She was convinced it was a dream, because it smelled like bacon. Ranger was not in the bed, and if he was downstairs cooking, it was not bacon, because Ranger did not eat bacon. He did not buy bacon. He did not cook bacon. So it had to be a dream. She slowly climbed out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. Her eyes looked better, but, oh my god, her hair! Bacon or not, a shower had to come first. She adjusted the water and stepped in. Five minutes in, the bathroom door opened and within seconds Ranger was in the shower with her.

"This is a wonderful dream." Stephanie moaned as Ranger wrapped his arms around her waist and nibbled on the back of her neck.

"No dream, Babe."

"Oh yes it is." She leaned back into him and relaxed. "Because I have the most gorgeous man on the planet naked with me in the shower, and I smell bacon. I know you didn't make bacon, so this must be a dream. What _were_ you cooking?"

"It's turkey bacon." He soaped up a body sponge and began washing Stephanie with his shower gel.

She turned to look at him. "Turkey bacon? Is it any good?"

"Have some for breakfast, and let me know. I'll probably just eat a bowl of leaves and twigs with some fruit." He grinned at her as he lifted her hand and carefully unwrapped the wet bandage. "This looks much better today. How does it feel?"

"Better, just a little tender." She looked at it closely. "Bobby was right. It didn't even blister. I don't think I'll even wrap it today." Stephanie grabbed a bottle and began to work shampoo into her hair. She looked up at Ranger. "Do you have to go back to Trenton this morning?"

"Yes, I have several meetings scheduled, and Tank wants me to meet a possible new hire."

"Can I come back with you for the day? There's not much for me to do here. I'd like to stop in at the bail bonds office and see Connie and Lula. Maybe have lunch and go shopping. I need a dress for Friday night." She turned to rinse. "Although I could just wear the black halter dress and knee high boots to dinner at the Ritz-Carlton. You remember? The outfit I bought at Cindy's shop." She smiled teasingly at him.

Ranger growled. "I remember. That dress does not get to be seen publicly again!" Dios, Babe you have no idea…how you left my men in Miami…. Take the card, and buy something nice."

"You don't think that dress is nice?"

"I like that dress just fine." He nibbled on her neck again. "You can wear it anytime." His hands found her breasts. "Anytime we're alone."

The shower took another thirty minutes.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

"Carlos, we're going to have to do something about your attention span." She giggled.

"What do you mean Babe? I'm paying a great deal of attention right now." They had left the shower and were now laying wet and naked on the bed. "For instance, I'm paying enough attention to notice that you have the most intriguing birthmark in the shape of…what is that? The state of Ohio?...Just on the inside of your left thigh." He kissed it and shifted his weight to the side and lifted her right arm. "And on the side of this incredible breast, you have a series of small freckles that,… if I play connect the dots,…" he slowly ran his finger along them, "they form the letter "C". He lifted his head and smiled at her. "It's fate. You really do belong to me."

Stephanie resisted pulling away from the tickling sensation he was creating with his light touch. "Maybe the letter "C" stands for 'Chuck' or 'Connor'."

"Do you know anyone named 'Chuck' or 'Connor'?"

"No."

"I rest my case."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Are you done pointing out my flaws? Or do you have more? Besides, those are not freckles, they're _beauty_ marks!"

"I stand corrected. But I could go on for hours, because they are not flaws." He kissed her sweetly. "They're part of you, and that makes them perfect."

"You got distracted in the shower and never answered my question."

"Yes I did. I told you it was turkey bacon."

"No. I meant the other question. Can I go back to Trenton with you today?"

"Already taken care of, Babe. He kissed her again. "I called Tank this morning and cancelled your protection team for today. I thought you would want to go back to Trenton. I know you must miss Rex."

Stephanie leaned up on her elbow and kissed him back. "Thank you. How do you always know what I need?"

"Years of practice, Babe." He ran a finger across her cheek. "Right now, I know that you _need_ to eat. Let's get dressed and reheat breakfast."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

When they reached the bail bonds office, Ranger parked the Lexus at the curb in front. A standard issue, black, RangeMan SUV was also parked there.

"Woody's here picking up today's files. I'll leave you the car and catch a ride back to Haywood with him." Ranger got out of the car and went around to Stephanie's door to open it. When she was out of the car, he grabbed her hand and led her to their alley. Sufficiently secured against the wall, he kissed her thoroughly. "I'm going to miss you today. Will you be careful? Please."

"I will, Carlos." She put her arms around his neck. "I'll miss you, too."

He took her hand, and they walked into the office. Lula was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, and Connie was leaning over the counter gazing at Woody, who was gazing right back. They both had the most adoring looks on their faces. Stephanie smiled with happiness for her friend. Ranger cleared his throat.

"Hey, boss." Woody had the look of a teenager caught making out. He straightened up and grabbed the files. "Ready when you are."

Connie shook herself out of her 'hot boyfriend' daze, looked up and realized Stephanie had come in, too. "Steph! Oh my God. I didn't expect to see you today!" She shrieked with delight as she scurried around the counter, in her impossibly high heels, and hugged her friend.

"Hey, Connie. It's just a one-day visit. I miss you guys so much."

"Babe, we're outta here." He pulled her in for a quick kiss and handed her the keys. "Stay safe."

Woody, who was nearly a foot taller than Connie, even in the heels, leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "See ya tonight, darlin'."

The two men left the office and took off in the SUV.

"You two are disgustin'." Lula complained as she got up from the couch. "Kissin' and slobberin' all over your men like that."

"Don't mind her, Steph." Connie replied as she returned to her place behind the desk. "She's just jealous, because Tank has a thing against PDA's."

Stephanie looked a little confused. "PDA's?"

"Public displays of affection." Connie explained with a cute grin on her face. "Tank is shy."

"He's not shy! He just chooses to save up all his romantic energy for the bedroom, and the kitchen, and the livin' room." Lula yelled, defending her man. "That man is not shy! Why just last night he did somethin' with his tongue that…"

Stephanie really wanted to prevent Lula from completing that thought. She didn't want any images of Tank doing anything but RangeMan work. "That's okay, Lula, we don't need to know the details. We get it. He's not shy. He just has…respect for you in public. I think that's sweet."

"Damn straight he's sweet. My hunk of lovin' is the sweetest man on the planet." She dropped her remaining files on Connie's desk. "Girl, what are you doin' here today anyway? Ain't you still workin' that case for Ranger?"

"Yeah, we didn't have anything going on today, so I thought I would come back to town and visit my friends. Can we all have lunch later?"

"Sure." Connie answered enthusiastically. "I have to be here for another two hours until Vinnie finishes his work down at the courthouse. But after that I'm free for a long lunch. Then I have to leave work early because I have a date to get ready for."

"Since RangeMan took over most of the skip work, I'm pretty much free all day." Lula added.

"Sooo, Connie," Stephanie gave her that 'girlfriend needs information' look, "you and Woody?"

Connie's grin got big and her face went all dreamy. "Yeah. That man had me the minute he walked in the door and opened his mouth. That sexy, Texas accent, those soft, blue, bedroom eyes... and oh, that boy can kiss." She shook herself out of her thoughts and straightened up. "Yup, me and Woody."

"He's a good guy. I'm happy for you. I saw you two at Dino's the other night."

"That was our first date. Steph, you were great. Woody and I joined some of the other guys for drinks after you left. They couldn't stop talking about your show. You really knocked them for a loop."

"Yeah." Lula joined in. "Tank had to confiscate the video that Hector made. Them boys kept playin' it over and over on the monitors. He said it was distractin' them from their work."

Stephanie winced and turned toward the desk. "Just great." She made a mental note to ask Tank about the video. "Connie, while we're waiting, can I ask you to do me a favor?"

"What is it, Steph?"

"This case I'm working on involves a man named Victor Giordano. He supposedly has close ties to one of the East Coast 'families'." Stephanie put air quotes around the word _families_. "RangeMan did a search, of course, and came up with most of his business information. But I was hoping you could make a few calls and get me some information of a more personal nature. I'm going to meet this guy tomorrow night and there's just a nagging feeling I have about his connection to Andrew Sullivan." She shook her head. "It's probably just nerves. But I'd like to be prepared. Andrew thinks he has a strained relationship with his family."

"Steph, you _do_ know that you should never ignore those nagging feelings you get?" Connie looked at her seriously. "Give me some time. I'll call my Aunt Vernie. She spends a lot of time on the East Coast vacationing in all the hot spots. I'm sure she's heard something." Connie picked up the phone and started on her mission.

Connie's connection to the 'family' grapevine for information was almost as good as Mary Lou's was to the 'Burg's'. If the information was out there, Connie would find it. The search engines at RangeMan had nothing on either of those women when it came to personal information. RangeMan computers may be able to tell you what grade your butcher got on his fourth grade spelling test and what was in his bank account, but the grapevine, could tell you how many mistresses he had and how his wife was planning her revenge.

"What d'ya say we go get some coffee and donuts while Connie's doin' her thing?" Lula grabbed her purse and headed to the door.

"Perfect." Stephanie said, grabbing hers as well. "I'll drive."

Ten minutes later Stephanie and Lula were drooling over the contents of the pastry case at Dunkin' Donuts. Between the two of them, they managed to pick out a dozen of the office favorites and ordered three coffees. Lula headed out the door ahead of Stephanie and came to a sudden stop halfway through.

"Don't look now, but Super Cop is waitin' out there for you." She shook her head slowly. "Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, that man has a fine ass."

Sure enough Morelli's truck was parked at the curb, and the man himself was standing against it with his arms folded across his chest; dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. Stephanie and Lula continued their path to the Lexus parked immediately behind the truck. Stephanie really wanted to ignore Joe and pretend he wasn't there, but as she got closer, she realized that it would be immature as well as nearly impossible. She decided to put on her big girl panties and walked right up to him instead.

"Joe." She nodded at him.

"Cupca…Stephanie." He answered

"You stopping here for some coffee?"

Joe's body language was stiff and irritated. "No, I saw you and Lula going into the bakery. I haven't seen you around lately. Can I speak to you…privately?"

Stephanie looked at Lula and handed her the box of donuts and the keys. "Could you wait for me in the car? I'll only be a minute."

Lula looked at her nervously. "Sure thing, girl. Just holler if you need me." She hit the button on the key fob and let herself into the car.

Joe removed his glasses and looked her straight in the eye. "I know that's not your car. Is it one of Ranger's?"

Stephanie ignored the question and asked one of her own instead. "What did you want to talk about, Joe?"

"I got a call last week from Juniak. It was a courtesy call informing me of your _trouble_ in Philadelphia. He wasn't aware that we aren't… together anymore." Joe looked pained as he said the words.

"Okaaay." Stephanie crossed her arms and looked at him as if she were still waiting for the point.

"Okay? Okaaay?" Jesus Christ, Stephanie, what the hell were you doing in Philadelphia?"

"I. Was. Working!" Stephanie was trying to maintain her composure. She didn't want to make a scene on the street, but they were falling into the same old familiar routine; Joe yells, and Stephanie defends...loudly!

"For Manoso?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes. I've been working for Ranger the last couple of weeks on an assignment. Being in Philadelphia is part of my job."

"What else are you _doing_ for Manoso? What else is part of your _job_?" He spat out making lude insinuations.

"Joe! This conversation isn't going there. I'm done answering your questions."

Stephanie started to walk away but Joe grabbed her arm roughly and stopped her retreat.

"Jesus, Cupcake, from what Juniak told me, you were held at gunpoint, carjacked, and very nearly gang-raped. What the fuck kind of job does he have you doing?" He shook her slightly in anger.

Stephanie sighed. "I wasn't doing my job when I was part of that mess. I was just shopping, Joe. It's a normal activity that millions of people around the world do every day. I just walked into the store at the wrong time." She raised her voice a little and got up into his face. "And the only reason I'm safe now is because Ranger had me protected. He had two of his men following me all day. They saw what was going on and saved me. So don't you dare try to blame Ranger for what happened."

They stood standing almost nose to nose. Joe still had a hard grip on her arm. A black SUV pulled up and the doors quickly opened.

"Let her go, Morelli, and step back." The voice was low and threatening. Stephanie looked over Joe's shoulder and met Lester's eyes.

Joe looked down at his own hand, shocked, as if he didn't even realize what he had been doing. He dropped her arm and stepped back. Hector immediately appeared at Stephanie's side.

"I'm sorry, Steph….I didn't mean to…It's just that I…. I worry about you." Joe stuttered. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, and then his face suddenly went hard. "That son of a bitch ruined everything we had."

"Joe." Stephanie said softly. "Ranger was never our problem. You and I just never wanted the same things. Our relationship was a constant battle. I was afraid of commitment. You were miserable waiting for it. I loved my job, and you hated it. Hell, there were a million things wrong with us."

"Not everything was wrong, Cupcake." He looked at her with softer eyes.

"No, you're right." She met his eyes directly. "Some things were wonderful. But it wasn't enough." She leaned into Hector for support. "You have to move on, Joe."

"Is that what you've done?" He bitterly questioned.

She looked down at the sidewalk. "Yes."

"Is it Manoso, Steph? Is it one of these guys, Stephanie?" He looked at Hector who was edgily standing with one hand cradling her back and the other, protectively in front of her. "Is it this one?"

"Does it matter, Joe?"

"Christ, yes it matters. He has teardrop tattoos. Do you know what that means, Cupcake?"

Stephanie got indignant. She was angry at the blatant insult toward her friend. She spoke to him in a tight voice. "I know, Joe…that _this_ man walked into a dangerous situation and carried me to safety. I know… that all of Ranger's men treat me with respect." Her voice rose in resentment. "I know… that these men actually consider what I have to offer, to be valuable. I know, Joe… that I'm not perfect, but I don't have to be, because these men never belittle me for my failures. And I know, Joe…that these men never, _NEVER _tell me to give up or quit."

Morelli shook his head sadly. "You're playing with fire, Sweetheart. I can't protect you from your mistakes anymore."

"I'm no longer your responsibility, Joe." Stephanie sighed heavily and pleaded with him in a softer tone. "Go. Have a nice life. You're a good man. Find someone that will make you happy. It isn't me."

Joe dropped his head and turned. He got back into his truck and aggressively pulled away from the curb. Stephanie let out a deep, trembling breath. Hector and Lester relaxed slightly.

After taking a few moments to regain her self-control, Stephanie looked up at the two men. "Have you guys been following me? Ranger said he cancelled my shadows for today."

Lester stepped up. "No, Beautiful. Lula got worried, so she called Tank. Hector and I were on our way to oversee the installation of some electronics for one of the RangeMan clients. We were just a couple of streets over when Tank called us to come and check up on you." He looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She sighed. "Thank you, Les. That was just…very… unexpected. I thought Joe and I had parted on better terms." She turned to Hector. "Thank you for coming, I'm sorry he was rude to you."

Hector took her hand. "Not to worry, Chica. I can take it." Stephanie reached over his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. Hector was a little caught off guard (which is saying a lot for a RangeMan), but he quickly recovered, wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. "You know, mi joya preciosa, Lester is right. You are...hermosa. Su corazon…your heart…is very beautiful."

Stephanie released him and stepped back smiling warmly. "Thank you, Hector. That means a lot to me."

"Listen, Beautiful," Lester gently touched her cheek, "if you're sure you're okay, we're going to take off."

"I'm really fine." Stephanie smiled, trying to convince herself. "Go back to work. Lula and I are headed back to the bonds office and then we have plans for lunch and shopping. I'll be at RangeMan later."

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX…

When Stephanie and Lula walked back into the office, Connie was just getting off the phone.

"Where the hell did you two go for donuts? Canada? You've been gone for almost an hour."

"Our girl here ran into an old problem." Lula explained as she set the donuts on the counter and opened them up. Immediately, all three women reached in to grab one. There was brief silence and a collective moan as they ingested their sugary confections.

"Oh God, this is so good." Stephanie sighed with pleasure. "Sorry about the coffee, Connie. I'm sure it's cold. Should we try to nuke it?"

"Don't bother. We're going to lunch in another hour anyway. What happened at the donut shop?"

"It's a long story. We'll save it for lunch."

Connie set her half eaten donut down and wiped her fingers on a napkin. She gingerly picked up a notepad. "I have some information for you about Giordano." She got a worried look on her face. "You aren't going to be alone with this guy, are you?"

"It's not part of the plan. I'm going to dinner with Andrew, and Victor will be joining us. We'll be in a restaurant. Why? What did you find out?"

"Well, the word is that, Victor has not been very _'stable'_ lately. Evidently his family has been cleaning up his messes for years. He was always quite the playboy. He went through women like we walk through air. Occasionally that, and his notoriously short temper, got him into some trouble." She took another bite of donut and continued. "His mother is the niece of Dominic Bilotti. Bilotti is a big name in the New York 'family'. Not a nice guy. People who upset Dominic, generally don't have to worry about planning out their retirement." She gave Stephanie a knowing look. "Anyway, Victor's mom has been telling her friends that she's very upset and concerned. Victor has changed in the last several months. He's become moody, withdrawn, and unpredictable. She's been worried about his abuse of prescription drugs. When she tried to talk with him about her suspicions, he flew into a rage and smashed half of her prized porcelain figurine collection against a wall." Connie set her note pad down. "I assume you know about his arrest. Looks like this guy's into more than prescription drugs."

"Yeah, that's why RangeMan has the case. He's FTA."

"Why does RangeMan have the case? Vinnie didn't post bond, Les Sebring did."

"Sebring hired RangeMan to protect his investment. The bond was posted for two million dollars."

Connie made a long, low whistling sound. "That's a lot of investment."

"Thanks for the information, Connie. I wish I could say I feel better knowing what you just told me. But I guess it's better to be armed with that information before tomorrow night."

"You be careful with that man, Sweetie. We want you back here in one piece." She smiled. "This office just isn't the same with you gone."

The back door to the bonds office opened, and Vinnie walked in. He did a double take when he saw Stephanie.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." He said gruffly. "Are you here to work?"

Stephanie shook her head. Connie jumped in.

"No, she's not. She's here to go to lunch with us." Connie grabbed her bag and pulled on Stephanie's arm. "I'll be back in an hour and a half." She looked back over her shoulder. "And don't forget, Vinnie, I have to leave early today."

"Geez, what am I paying you for?"

Lula looked at him as she picked up her purse to follow. "You're payin' her to keep your sorry ass in business." She walked out.

The girls had lunch at a new restaurant downtown. They ordered drinks and filled Connie in on the morning's events with Joe. After lunch, Connie headed back to the office and Lula and Steph started out to search for a dress. Trenton was not really known for its abundant access to higher end designer clothing, but they narrowed their search to some pricy dress shops in the more upscale part of town. In the third shop, Lula pulled out a beautiful bronze, stretch taffeta, slim knee-length cocktail dress with wide tapered shoulder straps that trailed into an open back bodice. It had a sweetheart neckline and a ruched, crisscross bodice in the front. It came with a matching wrap. When Stephanie tried it on, they both agreed it was sexy as hell. Perfect. Relieved that she had a dress in hand and shoes, already back in Philadelphia, to match. Stephanie dropped Lula at the bonds office and headed over to RangeMan.

Stephanie parked in the garage and took the elevator to the fifth floor. She stopped by the control room.

"Hey, guys." She called as she entered the room.

"Hey, Bombshell, long time no see." Binkie greeted from the monitors. "We miss you around here."

"Hopefully I'll be back soon. Is Ranger here?"

"No, he's still on site at one of our business clients."

"Thanks, Binkie. I'll just wait for him on seven."

Stephanie stepped back into the elevator and rode it to the top floor. She opened the apartment, dropped her purse on the hall tabl,e and headed to the kitchen.

"Rex, I'm back." She said while tapping on the side of the cage. When he didn't come out, she went to the refrigerator and found a bag of baby carrots. She dropped one into the cage, and Rex scurried out of his soup can to pick it up. "Hey little buddy, sorry I haven't been around." Rex looked up and gave her a wink. "Have you been spending time with Lester again?" She giggled at him. "Oh Rex, this has been the most crazy couple of weeks. So much has happened; it has my head spinning faster than your wheel." She sighed. "You will never believe what Joe did today."

"I heard."

Stephanie jumped about six inches into the air and grabbed her heart. "Geez, you scared the crap out of me."

Ranger pulled her into a warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Babe. You should be more aware of your surroundings." He chuckled.

Stephanie hugged him tightly. "Not here. This is my safe place. This is the one place where I always feel secure."

"My apartment or my arms?"

"Both." She looked up at him. "I mean…they're the same thing. When I walk into this apartment it's the same feeling I get when you hold me. It's instant relief from all my worries and fears. The first time I came here, hiding from the slayers, the moment I opened the door, I felt it. I smelled it."

"What did you smell?"

"You. This apartment smells like you." She stood up on her toes and pulled him in for a kiss. "I missed you today. How did your meetings go?"

He stepped back from her, took her hand and led her over to the couch. He sat and pulled her into his lap. "Nice try, Babe, but I want to hear more about your run-in with Morelli today."

"Oh, that." She responded weakly. "Wouldn't you rather hear about the dress I found for tomorrow night?"

"Dress later, Morelli now."

"What do you already know about it?"

"Santos called me." Stephanie nodded, not surprised. "He said that when he and Hector arrived, Morelli had you by the arm,…" restrained anger was beginning to show on his face. "tightly."

"Did Lester tell you what he said?"

"I read the report."

"There's a report?" She asked incredulously, raising her voice. "A _written_ report of my run in with Morelli?"

"Yes." Ranger had the good sense to look a little guilty. "There was an official RangeMan response to a security situation. So there has to be a report filed. It's standard procedure."

Ranger looked at her sternly. "Stephanie, I want to know what happened before my men got there. What did he say to you? Did he threaten you? Did he touch you?"

"What?…No! He was upset. Juniak called him last week after my…the whole robbery thing. It was some kind of cop, brotherhood, courtesy call, because he thought Joe and I were still together. Joe just…well,...he had questions…that's all."

"And?"

"And… I didn't like some of his questions… and he didn't like some of my answers." She shrugged. "Before I knew it we were back to the same old angry routine. I didn't want to get dragged into it, so I tried to walk away. He grabbed me by the arm to stop me. Really, Carlos, I don't think he meant to hurt me. He didn't even seem to realize he was holding on to me so tightly, until Lester told him to let go." She looked down at her hands. "Joe did apologize."

"Had he been drinking?" Ranger asked in a low emotionless voice.

Stephanie snapped her head up. "No! Why would you ask that?"

"There's a family history."

"You know Joe's not like that. He's a good man. Joe has never behaved like that around me." She sighed. "He's just having trouble dealing with our break up."

Ranger pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the head. Stephanie could feel his body relax slightly. "Babe, I read the report. He accused you of sleeping with Hector?" Ranger chuckled.

"Among others. But, if that's what he thinks… I didn't do much to dispel the idea. After some of the things he insinuated, at the very least, he deserved to walk away today with _that_ idea swimming around in his head." She gave Ranger a devious grin.

"Babe, you said some pretty impressive things about my men." He lifted her chin to look directly into her eyes. "Lester was damn proud of you…and so am I." He gave her a tender kiss. "How about we have some dinner, and you can tell me all about the dress."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	19. Chapter 19

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 19**

Friday morning saw a flurry of activity at RangeMan. The day started out with an early meeting of the team Ranger wanted for Giordano's takedown. In addition to the core team members of Ranger, Tank, Bobby and Lester, Tank had assigned Cal, Hector, Woody, Hal, Ram and Binkie. Stephanie found it fascinating to watch the men plan and strategize the event as if they were choreographing the takeover of a small third world country. They used maps, and blueprints that outlined every, room, hallway and exit of the hotel. They discussed parking, weapons, bodyguards, timing, public safety, her safety, communication, surveillance, back-up contingencies…it was dizzying. At one point the discussions became so intense that Stephanie felt overwhelmed. She stood up and walked out.

Ranger found her in the break room nervously peeling the label off a bottle of water.

"Babe, are you okay?" His eyes were full of concern.

"I'm fine. Its' just…there is so much that can go wrong…so many variables I never knew about before. I've never really thought about how much planning goes into one of these things. You or one of the other guys usually just picks me up, gives me a profile of the subject, and I go do my thing. And, if all goes according to plan, I leave when it's over. I guess I got a taste of this down in Miami when I helped plan Sandor's takedown, but this is so much more complicated."

"Giordano is a complicated and dangerous skip, Steph. We have to think of everything before we can send you in there." He pulled her into an embrace. "You don't have to worry about all those details. That's my job. You have the hard part. We need you to get Giordano out of that restaurant and, if not outside, then a least some place inside the hotel where we can get to him, but where public traffic is still at a minimum."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I have an idea, but I want to call Andrew first." She looked up at Ranger. "I'm sorry I just walked out of the meeting like that."

Ranger leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. "It's all right, Babe. You're so good at working with my men, that I sometimes forget that you don't have a military background. I'm sure it can be overwhelming." He stepped back and put his hands on her shoulders. "Take a few minutes, but I would like you to come back to the meeting and give us some perspective on how you see things working."

"Let me make a phone call, and I'll be back in. I promise." She gave him another quick kiss and he returned to the meeting. Stephanie had made a decision. She was pretty sure that, after the way things went on her last date with Andrew, she could take this next course of action and be successful. It's not what she wanted to do. In fact, it was about as far away from what she wanted to do as she could get. But there was no way she wanted to continue this charade any longer than was necessary. She had an idea that would give her the opportunity to get Giordano out of the hotel, and she was going to take it. Stephanie took out her cell phone and dialed.

The phone rang twice and Andrew's buoyant voice answered. "Hi, Sweetheart, I was just thinking of you."

Stephanie smiled. "I hope they were good thoughts."

"Absolutely." Stephanie could hear his smile in that one word. "I can't wait to see you tonight."

"Me either. I bought a new dress just for the occasion. I wanted to wear something special for you."

"Maria, you could wear a burlap sack to dinner, and you'd still be the most beautiful woman in the restaurant."

"Liar!" She teased. "But seriously, burlap? Do you know how uncomfortable that would be?"

"My guess is that you wouldn't want to wear it very long." He intimately suggested. "That would not necessarily be a bad thing."

"Oh, Mr. Sullivan, you are persistent."

"Is _that_ a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily." She took an imaginary deep breath. "I have a proposal for you."

"A proposal?" He repeated. "That sounds intriguing."

"It could be." She purred. "I have asked my mother-in-law to keep Carlos for the night. I thought that after we finish dinner at the hotel, the three of us could go back to your place and have dessert and coffee. I make a terrific chocolate cheesecake." Stephanie rolled her eyes at the lie. "I know you and Victor would still need to have your business meeting, but I could make myself scarce somewhere else in the house until you were finished."

"Maria, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that after your meeting with Victor, he would leave and…I…wouldn't." Stephanie closed her eyes, hating the words coming out of her mouth.

There was silence between them for a few moments. Then Andrew responded with an obviously suppressed excitement. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." She whispered.

"I would love that, Maria, but are you're absolutely sure you're ready for this?"

"Are you, Andrew? I know it hasn't been that long since your wife…"

Andrew cut her off. "Hey, I have met an amazing woman, who has shown me that life can go on. I need to go on with my life, Maria. I love your idea for tonight."

Stephanie sighed with relief. "Are you sure Victor won't mind the change in plans?"

"You're asking me if Victor would mind coming back to my house for cheesecake?" Andrew laughed. "When we were in college, Victor could eat an entire pie in one sitting. He's a complete sugar addict. I'm sure he will love the idea."

"Okay. Good. Then I better get busy. I have a dessert to make and a special dinner date with a handsome man to get ready for. We'll have to change our plans slightly. I should drive over and meet you at your house so I can put the cheesecake in the refrigerator. We can leave for the restaurant from there. Is that okay?"

"Yes." He hesitated and then added. "Maria, I can't wait."

"Me either, Andrew. I'll be at your place shortly after six. Goodbye."

Stephanie hung up the phone. She had one more call to make, before heading back into the meeting. She picked up the house phone and punched a number.

"Hello, Ella?" She squeaked. "Help!"

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie opened the conference room door hoping to slip discretely back into the meeting. But as soon as she stepped across the threshold, ten pairs of eyes turned to focus on her.

"Sorry." She weakly whispered as she took her seat.

"Babe, you're just in time." Ranger turned his attention on her. "We were just going to discuss the best possible exit route. What have you got for us?"

Stephanie nervously cleared her throat. "Well, I just spoke with Andrew, and the good news is that I have convinced him that it would be nice for all three of us to leave the restaurant after dinner and have dessert and coffee back at his house. I told him that I make a_ killer_ cheesecake." She smiled. There were a few chuckles around the room. Her _dis_abilities in the kitchen were well known. "Hey, you guys, I _can _make the coffee!" She rolled her eyes in surrender. "But Ella has agreed to make the cheesecake." Smiles abounded around the table at her confession.

"And the bad news, Babe?"

"The bad news is that we have to make this work tonight." She looked up nervously. "In order to... motivate... Andrew to go along with this plan, I had to suggest that tonight would be a good night to redeem that rain check from Wednesday."

"Shit." That was the one word response from Tank. There were also grumbles of discontent from some of the other men. Tank, Lester and Bobby had all been wired Wednesday and understood the meaning of the rain check reference.

Ranger's face showed understanding. "It won't get that far, Babe, I promise you."

Stephanie gave him a weak smile in appreciation, and then slowly added… "There's more."

"What do you mean, Beautiful?" Lester leaned forward in concern.

"I asked Connie to dig into Victor's reputation with the local families." Woody looked up at the mention of her name. Stephanie gave him a reassuring look. "You know that she has connections, and the RangeMan searches have been pretty much limited to numbers and statistics. I wanted more, so she made some calls."

"What did she come up with, Bomber?"

Victor's mother is the niece of Dominic Bilotti. Connie's Aunt Vernie travels in the same circles as her. Anyway, she says that Victor's mother has been confiding to her friends that Victor has been very unstable the last few months. She believes that he's hooked on prescription drugs, and when she confronted him about it, he flew into a violent destructive rage."

Tank sighed heavily. "Damn, Ranger, the Bilotti family? Giordano could be more dangerous than we thought. Do you know how fast this could go totally FUBAR tonight? Are you sure we should be sending Bomber in there?"

Ranger, who had been very quiet and non-responsive during Stephanie's revelation, now looked to her. She could see the internal struggle he was facing, so she spoke up to help him with his decision.

"Ranger, Andrew would not let anything happen to me. He has spoken to Victor recently. He says he's looking forward to this dinner. We'll be in a public place. I think it will be okay. We need to do this tonight because we may not get a better opportunity."

Ranger hesitated and ultimately nodded in agreement. "Babe, let's take a look at which exit we're going to need you to use." He looked across the table. "Santos."

Lester began his report. "Since Giordano arrived last night. He has only left the hotel once. At both his arrival and departure from the building, he used the same entrance…this one over here." Lester pointed to the floor plans. "It's not the main entrance but it has easy access to the parking lot, elevators, and is more private. His bodyguard is also his driver on this trip. The driver pulls the car up to the entrance, and Giordano gets out and enters the hotel. Upon leaving, the driver leaves the building first to get the car and Giordano waits inside this entrance until the car pulls up to the door."

They spent the next half hour showing Stephanie surveillance photos of the hallway and exit she needed to become familiar with. When they got to the details of the actual capture Ranger shot her a nervous look.

"Babe, Tank and Hal will take care of the bodyguard outside when he goes for the car, but we will have four additional men at the door for the takedown. We're going to have to apprehend Sullivan as well."

Stephanie looked shocked. "Why? He isn't FTA."

"We can't afford to have him trying to interfere with the capture. He could create complications. He doesn't know about Giordano's arrest and will most likely think the takedown is a mugging or some other attack. Sullivan's first instincts will be to protect you. We saw that last week on the night of your performance when Lester…provoked him. We don't need him playing the hero."

Stephanie looked upset. "You won't hurt him will you?"

"The men here are aware of who he is." Ranger nodded around the table. "They will do their best to protect him. But he has to be neutralized. I won't take any chances with you being that close. You're safety is their first priority." Ranger's words were delivered in a tone that made it perfectly clear the subject was not up for debate.

Stephanie wanted to argue but she remembered her promise to let Ranger do his job. "I understand." She replied. But that didn't mean they would not be discussing this later…in private.

Ranger concluded the meeting and everyone got up to leave. They all had their assignments and needed to prepare for them. Stephanie never left her chair. The room emptied and Ranger sat down next to her.

"What's on your mind, Babe?"

Stephanie looked at him but didn't answer right away. She wanted to choose her words very carefully. "Carlos, I don't want to be treated differently because of us…being together."

"You think I'm doing that?"

"I think you're asking your men to do that."

"Stephanie, this is no different than any other distraction. Your safety is always top priority. When you step into one of these situations, you very rarely have the ability to carry any kind of weapon. As a member of the team you have to be protected."

"I understand that, but this plan to take down Victor is different than any of my other distractions. You have never assigned six men at the door before. What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"We have to take out the bodyguard and Sullivan as well. That requires more manpower."

"Come on, Ranger, I understand your concerns about the bodyguard, but even _I _could take down Andrew alone; he's not a threat. And Giordano shouldn't be much of a challenge…physically, so what's going on?"

Ranger knew Stephanie was not going to give this up. He turned her face with his hands. "Babe, what do you know about the Bilotti family?"

"Connie said that Dominic Bilotti is not a nice guy. He's mob…so that's no surprise. She didn't say anything else. Why?"

"We knew Giordano was involved with the mob, but didn't know it was the Bilotti family until you brought us that information. Dominic Bilotti's organization is heavily into gun running. There has been a lot of competition for that business on the east coast, but the Bilotti's are the biggest supplier. They run a very tight ship. No loose ends. If they have 'concerns' about Victor Giordano, they are probably watching him very closely. He's probably been given some leniency because he's Bilotti's nephew. But that won't protect him if he steps too far out of line."

"So you think there could be complications with the takedown?"

"I think the Bilotti family doesn't want anyone causing them trouble. Family or not." Ranger stood up and pulled her from her chair putting his arms around her waist. "The Bilotti's don't want negative publicity. They can't afford it. They aren't going to do anything out in the open. As long as you are in the restaurant, I don't think they will cause trouble. I'm just taking some extra precautions during the takedown." His voice softened. "Don't forget how very important you are to me." He pulled Stephanie into a kiss. It quickly deepened into a passionate affair that had Stephanie's heart racing and her panties wet. She pulled his shirt from his pants and ran her hands up his chest. Ranger lifted her onto the conference table and slid his hands under her sweater. He unexpectedly broke from their intimate contact and sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. "Dios, Babe. The cameras."

"Cameras? What do you mean?" She questioned in a breathless fog, not wanting to stop.

"You know the building is wired for security. This room has a camera that is being monitored in the control room." Ranger explained as he removed his hands and smoothed down her sweater.

Stephanie had a hint of mischievous humor to her voice. "You mean, right now, God knows how many of your men are standing out there getting a free show?"

"Afraid so, Babe."

"What about sound, can they hear us as well?"

"No, the sound is only recorded during interviews and meetings with clients for record keeping purposes."

She pushed Ranger back into his chair as she slid off the table and returned to sit in her own original seat. "So if we sit like this, looking perfectly platonic, but I tell you that I'm so wet, that if you don't take me upstairs in the next ten minutes I'm going to scream…They can't hear that?"

Ranger's jaw tightened and so did his pants. "No."

"And if I sit here looking all innocent and business like..," she crossed her legs and began the pretense of writing on the tablet in front of her, "...and I say something like…Once we're upstairs, I plan to strip down to nothing and ride you like a horse…no one can hear that either?" She continued to tease.

"No one, but me." Ranger's voice was becoming strained.

"Hmmm, that's good to know, Batman." Stephanie stood up, walked out of the room, and headed for the elevator without looking back.

Ten minutes later she found herself answering a knock at Ranger's apartment door on seven. "Can I help you?" She responded innocently as she opened the door to the visitor.

Leaning against the doorframe, Ranger smirked. "I'm here to see a lady about a horse."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Right after lunch, the entire team met one more time to finalize all the plans. Ranger and Stephanie were now heading back to the house in Philadelphia. Ella met them at the elevator carrying a cooler.

"Stephanie, dear, I've put the cake in here with some cold packs. When you get to the house, just put it in the refrigerator until you're ready for it. I hope it's what you wanted. I used a new recipe I found online." She smiled warmly at them both.

"Ella, I'm sure it will be perfect. Thank you. The lunch you packed for me the other day was wonderful."

"Good luck tonight, dear. Stay safe. I'm anxious for you both to come back here to stay. I miss cooking dinner for you."

"Staying safe is the plan. Hopefully this will all be over soon."

Ranger and Stephanie stepped onto the elevator and headed for the garage.

The closer they got to Philadelphia the more uneasy Stephanie got. Her Maria role was getting to her. The conflict between her real life and her false one was waging a battle in her head. Tonight would be so crucial to the success of the mission. She had to keep her story straight, so she spent most of the ride silently repeating conversations between her and Andrew, committing the details to memory. Ranger seemed to be driving in his 'zone', or maybe he just understood what she needed, but he didn't interrupt her thoughts. He simply held her hand and gently rubbed his thumb over her palm. It was almost hypnotic and eventually generated a feeling of calm over her.

When they reached the house, they unloaded the car. Stephanie carried in her purchases from her shopping excursion with Lula, and Ranger brought in the cheesecake.

"Babe, you have a few hours before you need to be ready. Why don't you go upstairs and lay down for a while. I'll wake you up in plenty of time to get dressed."

"I think I will. I've been so tired lately. Someone's been keeping me up at night." She beamed and gave him a hug. "But I'm not complaining."

Thirty minutes later, Ranger quietly entered the bedroom. His Babe was sound asleep in the bed looking completely at peace. He pulled up a chair and watched her sleep. This had become one of his favorite things to do.

The first time he broke into her apartment in the middle of the night it was to check on her after returning from a two week mission in South America. He had called Tank to let him know that he was about to land in Newark. He had asked about the state of the business and as part of the expected protocol Tank would give him an update on Stephanie's welfare. Returning from this particular trip, Tank had reported that she had, just that day, taken a particularly nasty fall down a fire escape when a skip tried to run out on her. She had tumbled down nearly two stories of steps and hit her head on a short brick landscaping wall. After talking to Lula, who had been with Stephanie for the apprehension, Tank had suspected that she had lost consciousness at least for a brief time, although Stephanie denied it. He was concerned that she might be suffering from a mild concussion and insisted on medical treatment. She had refused to even let Bobby take a look at her, but agreed to call the control room and check in at regular intervals the rest of the day and into the evening. They hadn't heard from her since eleven, when she told them she was going to turn in for the night. Despite being nearly three o'clock in the morning, Ranger had gone straight to her apartment from the airport. He had wanted to see for himself that she was alright, but there was another reason. He needed to feel centered again. He needed to feel like he had really returned home. Stephanie did that for him. Just seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, watching the way she rolled her eyes at his one word sentences, assured him that all was right with the world again.

Now as he sat in the chair, Ranger tried to pinpoint when she had become so important to him. She was beautiful. But she wasn't what he had typically been attracted to. Until he met Stephanie Plum, his eyes had always been drawn to women with dark skin, straight, long, black hair and exotic looks. He had been raised surrounded by the Cuban-American culture. The women he spent time with were mostly descended from his own heritage. Stephanie's porcelain skin, wild, curly hair and blue eyes were a direct contradiction to all his previous notions of ultimate beauty.

The first time they met in the diner, there was a frankness about her that he admired and a feistiness that intrigued him. She was desperate for money and wasn't afraid to admit it; and she wasn't going to be deterred from her pursuit to become a bounty hunter. His admiration grew into friendship when she never once questioned the truth of his innocence during the Ramos case. She was simply there for him in his time of need.

That was it.

He had very rarely ever _needed_ anyone. He was always in charge, giving orders, running his business, getting rid of the bad guys. Fulfilling the needs of others. This spirited little girl from Chambersburg, New Jersey, just appeared in his life and unexpectedly became someone he needed. The more time he spent with her after that, the fuzzier the line became between friendship and love.

It was tricky. There was the cop.

He watched their relationship cautiously, taking great care to respect her wishes. But the draw to her was too strong. He found himself needing to protect her…, to provide for her…, to be near her…, to touch her…, to kiss her. It had been a slippery slope reaching the point when he realized that he _wanted_ her and no amount of desperate purchase could pull him back.

He fought it.

He placed all kinds of barriers in his own way, but by the time Julie was returned to him safely, he knew.

This woman was _it_ for him.

This woman was the _one_ his mother had always told him was somewhere out there...just for him.

This woman was the _one _who would complete his life like the last missing piece of a puzzle.

Stephanie stirred.

Ranger got up from his chair and leaned over her sleepy form, tenderly brushing the curls from her face. "Babe, it's time."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	20. Chapter 20

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 20**

A million things were going through Stephanie's mind as she dressed for the evening. Details of the restaurant, possible conversation topics with Victor and Andrew, the specifics of her own contrived story, all swirled around her brain as she carefully applied make-up, jewelry, perfume, lingerie, dress and shoes. When she was finished, she took a long look in the mirror. She was still taken aback every time she glanced at her altered hair color. In all her years as a Jersey girl, she had done some wild things with her hair, but changing the color to red, had never been one of them. As she shifted her focus to her now, green eyes, she wondered if Ranger had become so used to the exotic changes that he wouldn't want her blue eyes and average brown hair to return. She pushed that idea away. Ranger had done everything to reassure her of his unconditional love. Stephanie was disappointed in herself for letting some of her old self-doubts and insecurities claw their way to the front of her thoughts. She remembered how blissfully she had awakened from her earlier nap to what she thought, at first, was an amazing dream...

_Carlos' soft, sexy voice slowly lured her from her slumber. "Babe, it's time." When she opened her eyes, there was a look in his that she had never seen before. His face reflected total serenity...complete peace. His eyes beheld her as something more precious than life. Stephanie smiled at the feeling of perfect love that overwhelmed her when she realized that she was the reason for the euphoric state of his soul. He climbed into the bed and softly stroked her face. He didn't speak again. He leaned toward her at a slow measured pace and his lips connecting to hers sparked erotic warmth that spread from her heart to deep inside her womb so rapidly, she nearly came from the intensity. Her mind no longer imagined sleep. It responded to his touch with powerful expectations for more. She moaned into his mouth and begged him, with her writhing body, to expand his attention to her breasts. She was impatient for them to be in his mouth._

_In response to her demand, Carlos slowly lifted off the black RangeMan t-shirt that she had worn to bed. Her body underneath was warm and an exhilarating combination of his smell and hers was released from her skin. He buried his head into her chest with a primal need to inhale her very essence. He slowly drew his tongue over each nipple and pulled them to a rigid peak while tenderly massaging each breast with his strong hands._

_Stephanie's thoughts lost all coherency. The only perception of reality she possessed at the moment was that of this glorious man, who, for some unknown reason, had been inspired to regard her as a worshipped goddess. It seemed his sole purpose was to indulge her in gratification and fulfillment. She reached to undo the button on his pants, but he stopped her with his hand on hers. He clasped both her wrists in one of his hands and slowly raised them over her head with an unspoken demand that they remain. He kissed her lips softly, but possessively, and trailed his tongue down the side of her neck until he reached the juncture at her shoulder where he playfully nipped at her hypersensitive skin; the result being an electrifying tremor that pulsed through her body._

_When he was assured that she would leave her arms in place, he employed his now free hands to slowly remove his own clothes, parting only briefly from her aroused form. Now, touching skin to skin, the initial unhurried pace of their lovemaking quickly escalated in tempo. Where their 'horseplay' relations before lunch had been aggressive, dynamic and feral, this union was emotionally poignant and soulful. He never took his eyes off hers as he entered; and she released an initial gasp of pleasure from the penetration as they connected. Once they were completely joined, they journeyed the sensation together as it strengthened, deepened and intensified, powerfully building inside them both until...culminating in an intoxicatingly, charged release neither of them had ever experienced before. _

_They covered each other in whisper soft kisses that gradually brought them back to earth._

_Ranger rolled to the side and pulled her into the ultimate protection of his curled muscular body. He finally spoke. "I love you, querida."_

Stephanie was moved again by the reminiscence, and tears reflecting utter contentment built up in her eyes. As she raised a single hand to her neck in memory of his lingering touch, her fingers found the locket around her neck. She opened it and wistfully thought about the possibility of really having her own child. The conversations she had held with Andrew this past week about children had come much easier than she had anticipated. She almost had herself convinced that her son was real. She had never given _serious_ thought before to having a baby. Joe wanted them desperately, but her own mortification at their one time pregnancy scare had pretty much convinced her that she must not want children. Maybe she just didn't want to have children with Joe. Hmm… Maybe that was a discussion to have with Carlos sometime. Maybe.

She continued her thoughts as she struggled with the clasp on the bracelet that Andrew had given her. She was startled back to the here and now when she heard Ranger clear his throat from the doorway to the bedroom.

"Do you need any help with that?"

She looked up at him with a smile of appreciation. "Would you? I seem to be all butterfingers this evening."

"Nervous, Babe?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Good. That will help keep you sharp." He finished securing the clasp and gave her palm a soft kiss. "You look beautiful, by the way." He traced a single finger along the edge of the sweetheart neckline. "I like the dress."

Stephanie pulled her arms around his neck and drew him close for a passionate kiss. "How much time do we have?" She murmured suggestively against his lips.

"Not enough." Disappointment was evident in his reply. "Besides," he chuckled, "you're just interested in a diversion. Relax; you're going to be great."

Stephanie pulled back. "I'm sorry, you're right. I know I'm prepared for this. I have the best back up team on the planet." She got a bright smile on her face. "And if anything goes wrong, Batman will be there to save the day. Right?"

"Damn straight." He leaned in and gave her a very comforting, warm kiss. "I'll always be there for you. Remember that." He caressed her face with his hands and they gazed at each other for several long moments. Unspoken promises and declarations flowed between them on an invisible current.

Ranger placed one more, dreamy, soft, kiss on her lips as his phone rang, effectively ending their very private moment.

"Yo." He answered, never taking his eyes off hers. "Down in five." He flipped it closed and put it back on his belt. "That was Tank. They're here." He rubbed his thumbs along her cheeks. "Are you ready, querida?"

"I still need my wire." She lifted it off the dressing table and teasingly swung it back and forth in front of him. "I saved this part for you. It's tradition." She smiled.

Ranger took the wire and tenderly secured it in place. He gave her a final kiss and turned it on. He took his receiver from his pocket and secured it to his ear. "We're ready to roll. Mic check." He spoke toward her concealed microphone. Each RangeMan replied in acknowledgement of his reception.

Stephanie picked up her clutch purse and the silk wrap that matched her dress, and they walked hand in hand down the stairs and headed toward the garage.

"Babe, I've already put the cake back in the cooler, and it's in your car." He hesitated, and then continued. "I also packed a small overnight bag for you."

Stephanie gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"Sullivan needs to believe you're planning to stay. It's just for effect. You won't need it." He quickly added.

She nodded. "I know."

Ranger opened the driver's door and handed her the keys. He reached inside the car and pressed the remote garage door opener. "Go get 'em, tiger!" Stephanie smiled confidently at him and folded herself into the car. He exited the garage and climbed into the large black SUV Tank was driving. As she watched him leave in the rear view mirror, an overwhelming sense of darkness took her by surprise. She nearly froze at the intensity of the feeling. She shook herself out of the trance and tried to isolate the source of the unwanted emotion. As she searched through her mind, Stephanie finally decided that the multiple warnings she had been issued concerning Victor were finally catching up to her. She started the car and backed out of the driveway.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

When Stephanie arrived at Andrew's house, he was already waiting on the porch. Dressed in an elegant black suit, white shirt and a deep red tie, the well-fitting suit magnified his strong chiseled features. As she stepped out of the car, he gave her a welcoming smile that made his whole face light up and her insides melt. He was magnificent looking, and Stephanie slapped herself, mentally, for her wayward thoughts.

"Wow, you look amazing." She complimented as he approached.

There was no hesitation. Andrew took her into his arms and claimed her with his sensuous lips. The kiss intensified and Stephanie found it hard to resist. There was so much honesty coming from his connection to her. He truly wanted her. It worried Stephanie that her body was responding with sexual anticipation. Her confusion increased and resistance decreased as he parted her lips with his tongue and solicited permission to enter. Her body continued to betray her loyalty to Ranger as Andrew pulled her in closer and the passion between them swelled. When they finally broke apart, desperate for air, Stephanie's head was spinning with guilt and bewilderment.

"My god, you are more stunning every time I see you." He ran his hands down her arms and rested them on her hips keeping her tightly pressed against his groin. "I have half a mind to call Victor and cancel the entire evening...just to keep you to myself."

Stephanie worked hard for the composure to respond. "Yes, but the other half of your mind knows that your good friend is anxiously waiting for us at the hotel. And I need to get this cheesecake into your refrigerator before the heat we just generated spoils it." She playfully stepped away and retrieved the cake from the car.

Andrew reached for her overnight bag and led her into the house, never taking his hand from her hip.

"I'll take your bag upstairs while you put that away." He nodded toward the kitchen.

Stephanie unpacked the cake and placed it in the refrigerator. She wandered into Andrew's office and meandered over to the massive wall of built-in cabinets and shelves located behind his desk. Among the books, knickknacks and plaques, there were several pictures situated on the open shelves. She hadn't noticed these the last time she was here. One in particular caught her eye and she picked it up. The little girl had dark, fine, wavy hair that was softly wafting sideways in response to an unseen breeze. She was wearing an emerald green bathing suit that matched the color of her eyes. There was a look of pure, innocent, joy on her face. Stephanie was so taken by the picture, that she didn't notice Andrew had entered the room. He reached around her shoulder and affectionately rubbed a finger over the child's image.

"She's beautiful, Andrew." Stephanie whispered in respect for his personal reflection.

"Yes, she was." The sorrow in his voice was heartbreaking. "She was everything to me." He continued. "But that's something you already know about. The depth of the love you feel for a child. The lengths to which you would go for them." He took the picture from her hands and replaced it on the shelf. "I'm disappointed that I haven't met your son yet. I would very much like to get to know him." He took her hand and led her across the room to the soft leather couch and settled her down next to him.

"I have a confession to make, Andrew." She looked away and lowered her eyes. "It has been very intentional on my part that you haven't met Carlos yet."

Andrew looked concerned and started to respond, but she put her hand up to stop him.

"Let me finish. Please." She begged. "When some time had passed after Ric's death, and well-meaning friends and family began pushing for me to put myself back out there, socially, I made a decision that I would not put Carlos through a possible revolving door of… _acquaintances_. I may have been an old married woman, but I remembered the process of dating well enough to know that you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince."

"Maria, there is no way you could ever be described as an old married woman." He chided.

"Be that as it may, I didn't want Carlos to get attached to a man that may or may not remain important in my life. I decided that if I developed a solid, promising relationship with another man, I would then consider introducing him into Carlos' life." Stephanie looked directly into his eyes. "I don't want you to be offended; I just need to protect my son. Do you understand?"

"Of course I understand. I think that you made a very wise decision. Your first responsibility is for the welfare and happiness of your son. I could never take offense at your efforts to protect him." He took her hand and kissed her fingers. "When and if you are comfortable with us meeting, I'll be ready. It's totally your decision."

"Thank you for understanding." She smiled weakly. "Sometimes, making these decisions and sticking to them is the hardest part of being alone."

Andrew nodded in sympathy, "You are a good mother. I'm sure Ric would be very proud of what you've accomplished with Carlos." He smiled and gently ran his fingers over the bracelet he had given her. "Maria, did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?"

"I believe the word you used was _stunning_." Stephanie returned with a genuinely shy smile. "But yes, I think you made your point."

"Stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, breathtaking…there are a hundred words that I could use to describe the way you look, but it doesn't change the fact that I can't take my eyes off of you."

"Well, I did have a little trouble narrowing it down between this dress and the burlap bag."

Andrew leaned in, brushed his lips against hers and whispered. "I told you before, it wouldn't matter." He closed in and let a searing kiss prove his words. Again he encouraged their encounter to intensify by drawing her closer to his chest. He reclined her back against the arm of the couch and continued, placing passionate kisses down her neck. "I can't believe how incredible you are." He murmured along her skin. "Everything about you…your smell…your eyes…your skin, drives me insane with hunger for more of you." His advances became more insistent, his hands and mouth more familiar with her body.

For lack of the ability to form any other response, Stephanie simply spoke his name. "Andrew." Her intent was that the word would come out as a slightly forceful warning to slow down. Instead, the breathy result she squeaked out only served to promote his ardent assault.

Somewhere in the house a clock chimed the half hour. Stephanie couldn't hold back the moan that escaped her lips at the thought that she had just been saved by the bell. Andrew interpreted her reaction as her disappointment that they needed to leave, and placed one last burning kiss on her lips. "Later, Sweetheart." Stephanie nodded her understanding with a slight smile and slipped out of his arms.

"I just need to freshen up and then we can go. I won't be long," she promised as she grabbed her small clutch purse and disappeared down the hall to the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror, Stephanie surveyed the damage to her make-up. She dampened a washcloth with cool water and tried to relieve some of the telltale swelling of her lips. She wanted to say something to Ranger. She wanted to reassure him and maybe herself as well, that this was just part of the job and nothing more. But she knew others would be listening and the words would not be private. After taking a few calming deep breaths, she reapplied her lipstick, fixed her hair, and returned to Andrew's office.

Andrew had regained his composure as well and was standing near the window holding her wrap. As she approached him, he smiled and motioned for her to turn so he could gently place the silky fabric over her shoulders. He ran his hands down her sides and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Stephanie placed her hands over his. "Andrew?" She looked down at their entwined fingers. "You're not wearing your wedding ring."

"I thought it was time." He simply replied. "It didn't feel right anymore." He placed three light kisses on her neck and whispered into her ear. "Maria, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to our night together."

"Me, too." She closed her eyes and whispered back. More lies.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

Shortly before seven pm, Andrew and Stephanie entered the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The massive lobby was spectacular. Several large Ionic pillars dominated the room spanning from the marble tiled floor to the high, ornate ceiling. Richly upholstered red and gold furnishings were organized in cozy groupings, giving the large room warmth. Stephanie was still taking it all in when she heard someone calling Andrew's name. She recognized Victor Giordano immediately from his file and the surveillance photos Lester had shown her earlier that morning. He was tall, maybe 6'1", slender and had traditional Italian features; strong chin, dark eyes, Mediterranean coloring. Similar to Joe, but not as ruggedly handsome; Victor possessed more sophisticated, bad boy looks. He was headed toward them with a large grin on his face.

"Andrew, it's good to see you." They clasped hands and gave each other a manly hug with some solid back pounding.

"Victor, it's good to see you, too. I take it your room is okay? I booked one of the Presidential Suites for you. Did you have any problems when you checked in?"

"No, none at all. Everything is fine." Victor stepped back from Andrew and looked toward Stephanie. "This must be Maria."

Andrew put a possessive arm around her waist and proudly spoke. "Yes, Victor, I would like you to meet Maria Granger. Sweetheart, this is my good friend Victor Giordano."

Stephanie reached out her hand to Victor. "It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Giordano. Andrew has had some very nice things to say about you."

Victor, who had not taken his eyes off Stephanie since he first looked, took her hand and kissed it. Stephanie felt a slight tremor travel through him, and she smelled alcohol on his breath. "It's a pleasure, Maria, but please, call me Victor." His gaze became intense and his warm smile disappeared. "Andrew lied to me about you."

Stephanie's stomach instantly gripped in fear. The concern showed on her face. "I'm afraid...I...don't understand." She stuttered out. She wanted to look around the room and locate her RangeMan support, but she was afraid that the nervous response would give her away. She forced herself to maintain her focus on Victor.

"Andrew told me you were beautiful." He looked over to his friend. "Andrew, how could you possibly describe this striking creature with a word as mundane as beautiful?" He returned to his intense study of Stephanie's face and lifted a hand to her cheek. "Why, she's nothing less than sheer perfection. Flawless splendor." His eyes were no longer seeing her in the present. He appeared to have been somehow transported… lost to a memory. It was beginning to creep Stephanie out. Connie's warning about Victor's instability sprang to mind.

Andrew stepped closer to Stephanie and addressed his friend with a tone of friendly dispute. "I believe I told you she was _beyond_ beautiful, Victor." He turned his head and looked down at Stephanie with loving admiration. "And you've only just met her. When you get to know her as I do, you will discover she's so much more. She's unlike anyone I have ever known."

Stephanie blushed at Andrew's words. "Well, if you two gentlemen are finished embarrassing me by fighting over words describing my virtues, I say we find our way to the restaurant. I'm starving."

Andrew chuckled. "She's right, Victor. I should warn you though; this woman has an amazing appetite. You don't want to be responsible for not getting her fed on time." He took Stephanie's hand. "She's a marvelous cook, too." He beamed. "She's created a decadent chocolate cheesecake that's waiting back at my house. We're hoping you'll agree to join us there after dinner for dessert."

Stephanie noticed that Andrew's voluble gushing of her kitchen prowess and addiction to food, allowed Victor's mind time to come back from its little jaunt to fantasy land. "I wouldn't dream of missing out on that, my friend. You know how I love dessert. Why don't we get started on dinner? I have something quite special planned for you tonight."

Victor turned and led them toward a short hallway off the lobby. Andrew and Stephanie followed, still holding hands. Andrew looked confused as they stepped into the car of one of the elevators and Victor pushed the button for the 14th floor. "I don't understand, Victor. Isn't the restaurant on the other side of the hotel, at the top of the grand staircase?"

"Yes it is." Victor answered with a mischievous grin. "But we're not having dinner in the restaurant. I told you I planned something special for you. I have a private dining room in my suite. I've arranged for dinner to be served there. It will be so much better for conversation and privacy. After all, Andrew, you did say you wanted me to get to know Maria."

_Shit, shit, shit. _Stephanie thought to herself. They were supposed to be eating in the restaurant. The _very_ public restaurant. _Ranger was probably having an aneurism. Damn. _She could only imagine the rush of activity that was going on, behind the scenes, in response to this revelation.

Andrew noticed her distress. "Sweetheart, what's the matter? You look upset."

Stephanie lied. "It's just…elevators. They make me nervous." She needed to get a message about where they were going to Ranger. "And heights, too." She continued. "The 14th floor…I'll be fine as long as I just stay away from the windows." This sounded totally ridiculous to her, but it seemed to be working.

"Don't worry, I'll hold on to you. You'll be fine." Andrew slid closer and tightened his grip around her waist.

The instant the doors opened to the 14th floor, Stephanie's spidey sense went crazy. They stepped off the elevator and were met by a man with a body that could almost rival Tank's. He was very tall, dark, extremely well built, and carried a gun in a shoulder holster under his jacket, but his similarity to the RangeMan second-in-command ended there, as this man was definitely not handsome. His frightening, pock-marked face appeared to be frozen into a permanent scowl. He threw a grunt and a brusque look toward Stephanie, and, at that point, she wanted nothing more than to get right back on that elevator and head home.

"Andrew, Maria, this is my bodyguard, Richard." Victor, very properly, introduced them.

In a bizarre fit of nerves, Stephanie almost giggled at her thoughts. _Richard? Really? Butlers are named Richard. Shoe salesmen are named Richard. This guy needed a name like….Bruno! Yeah… or Ajax. Richard? That's just didn't fit. Of course, _she reminded herself, _I do know a RangeMan called Binkie!_

Richard led them down the long carpeted corridor past several suites. From behind, Stephanie caught sight of the bulge of a second weapon at the back of his waistband under the jacket. She noted the room number as he expertly swiped the keycard through the lock on a set of elaborately carved double doors. He opened them and stood back to let the group enter. Once inside, he pulled the doors shut, remaining in the hallway to stand guard. He never said a word.

"Maria, why don't you let me take your wrap?" Victor offered as he came up behind her laying his hands on her shoulders.

Stephanie cringed at his touch, quickly allowed the wrap to drop into his hands and stepped away. "Thank you, Victor." She looked around the room. "This is a lovely suite. Do you always stay here when you visit Philadelphia?"

"The Presidential Suites are my favorite rooms here at the Ritz. Andrew always books one for me." He walked over to the sideboard. "Why don't we start with drinks? Andrew do you want your usual? Scotch and water?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

"Maria, what would you like?"

"Wine, if you have it. Thank you."

Victor handed them their drinks and poured a shot of straight bourbon for himself. He downed it immediately and refilled his glass a second time before joining them. His constant gazing at Stephanie was making her uncomfortable. Andrew didn't seem to notice it. Stephanie wondered if this was normal behavior for Victor, and Andrew just accepted it as one of the quirks of his good friend.

"Maria, Andrew tells me that you're a wonderful singer. You met him while performing at a local restaurant?"

"I was just helping out a friend. I don't sing professionally." She smiled over at Andrew. "Andrew very kindly put up with my act."

"Oh I don't think kindness had anything to do with it." He slyly grinned.

"What do you mean, Victor?" Andrew was beginning to take offense at his words.

"I mean, Andrew, how could you have possibly resisted the advances of such a lovely siren. I'm sure she was mesmerizing." He broke his gaze at Stephanie long enough to refill his drink a third time.

The room phone rang, breaking the course of the edgy conversation. Victor answered it and gave an affirmative response to the party on the other end.

"Dinner is on its way."

"Would you gentlemen excuse me? I'd like to freshen up before dinner." Stephanie asked.

"Why don't you use the bathroom in my bedroom, Maria? I'm sure you will be much more comfortable in there."

"Thank you." She nodded.

He led her to the door of his bedroom and closed it behind her. Stephanie quickly made her way across the opulent room and stepped into a large luxurious bathroom. If she hadn't been so nervous she would have taken the time to snoop around at the lavish accommodations. She was pretty sure she couldn't be heard all the way in the living room, but just for good measure she stepped into the separate toilet room and closed the door.

"We're in room 1456." She spoke to Ranger and the Merry Men. "There's a pretty beefy guard at the door. He's carrying; one in a shoulder holster and one at the back, in his waistband. I didn't see any knives; he's wearing a suit. Giordano is downing bourbon like water. He's had three just since we've been here and from the looks of it maybe a couple before we showed up. I'm okay. I think we can get through dinner. Maybe it will sober him up a little bit." She hesitated. "Oh, and one more thing…this guy is nuts!" She flushed the toilet, washed her hands and walked back to the men who were waiting in the living room.

Dinner had arrived and the server was setting the table. Stephanie was hoping to find the waiter to be one of the Merry Men working undercover, but it wasn't. She felt very much on her own. When the table was ready, Victor invited them to sit, holding a chair out for Stephanie.

"Everything looks wonderful, Victor." Andrew complimented, as he took a seat at the table next to Stephanie. "Sweetheart, would you like some more wine?"

Stephanie nodded and he filled her glass, then Victor's, and finally his own. He lifted his glass in a toast and the others followed. "To good friends," he nodded toward Victor, "and beautiful, sexy women." He looked at Stephanie with affectionate appreciation. They each took a drink and Andrew leaned into kiss Stephanie on the lips. He lingered there probably a bit longer than was considered proper at the dinner table and only pulled back when Victor cleared his throat.

"Andrew, how has business been lately? Have you been busy or have you been spending all your time with this lovely woman here?"

The waiter set a covered dish in front of each of them and returned to lift the lids. The smell of roast beef, potatoes, and sautéed vegetables wafted around the table. Victor excused the waiter and they began to eat.

"Actually, I have been very busy the last few weeks. The market has been experiencing some wild upswings and dips. My clients have been extremely nervous. My phone rings constantly with panicked concerns over the value of their portfolios."

"I have the same concerns. It's one of the things I want to discuss with you later this evening." Victor looked at Stephanie. "What do you do for a living, Maria? We've established that you don't _sing_ professionally."

Stephanie set her fork down and looked at Victor. "I don't work outside the home. I stay home and care for my son."

Victor's eyes widened in surprise. "You have a child? Andrew didn't mention that." He sounded shaken by the information.

"Yes, my son Carlos. He's almost four."

"Victor, Maria is a widow. Her husband was in the military and was killed overseas. You see, we have a lot in common. She's been wonderful to talk to." He turned to look directly at Stephanie. "She understands my own loss and has been very helpful at getting me to put it into perspective."

Victor shrugged. "Marissa was a wonderful woman, Andrew. And Madison…well, she was…I know it has been difficult for you these last several months. I'm glad that you have found someone to help you…forget." He sounded disappointed in Andrew.

"Victor, I don't _want_ to forget them. I could _never_ forget them. I loved Marissa and Madison more than life…as Maria loved her husband. But she has shown me that it's possible to move on with my life and still keep them in my heart." Stephanie noticed that Andrew gave Victor a hard look. Almost challenging him to respond.

It was a while before anyone spoke again of anything other than the taste of the food, the beauty of the hotel, and the weather. Victor refilled his wine glass _again_ and offered to top off the others. Stephanie declined. She was trying hard to figure out Victor's motivation. He seemed to care for Andrew as a friend, but his words and body language bordered on contentious. It wasn't quite obvious enough to be considered rude, but he was definitely delivering messages with double meanings. She was anxious to get the meal over with so they could leave the hotel room. She knew Ranger and the team had to be going crazy with frustration at not being able to have their eyes on the situation and her safety.

As they finished up their meal, Andrew's cell phone rang. He pulled it from his suit pocket and looked at the caller ID. "Maria, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm going to have to take this. It's one of my clients. Do you mind?"

"Of course not."

"Andrew, why don't you take the call in the bedroom? It will give you more privacy." Victor suggested.

"Thanks, Victor, I will if you don't mind." Andrew stood from the table and headed into the bedroom closing the door behind him.

Victor followed him with his eyes until he disappeared. Stephanie was very anxious at being left alone with Victor. The man had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol before and during dinner. She stood from the table and headed into the living room. She had dropped a stun gun into her purse as a last minute precaution, to validate the uneasy tingle she had been experiencing all week about this meeting with Victor. She wanted to be close to the weapon…just in case.

Victor sauntered into the room after Stephanie, watching her every move. He poured himself yet another bourbon. She felt the need to shatter the silence just to give the tension between them a break. But before she could even open her mouth, Victor spoke.

"Who are you, and what's your game?"

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	21. Chapter 21

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 21**

Stephanie felt the grip of fear return once again. "What do you mean?"

Victor's voice was filled with agitation. "You're just like her." He downed the drink in his hand. "That can't be coincidence."

Stephanie looked at the coffee table where her purse was sitting. She thought briefly about reaching for it but he was warily eyeing her with such suspicion that she was afraid the movement would set him off even more. "Victor, I don't know what you mean. Who are you talking about?"

"Marissa!" He spat out in annoyance. "Your hair, your eyes….My god, you even smell like her." His eyes were wild with anguish. "What do you want? Why are you doing this?"

"You're wrong." Stephanie added a pleading tone to her voice. "There is nothing intentional here. I met Andrew at the cabaret show. He asked me out. I have no idea what you think I'm doing. I'm not like Marissa."

"You're just like her!" He cried out. "Did you come here tonight to tease me…to drive me insane?" He threw the empty glass against the wall.

Stephanie cringed at the impact. "Why would I do that? I'm here because Andrew wanted us to have dinner with his friend. He asked me to come here."

"You know, don't you?" he said in an accusing voice.

"Know what, Victor?" Stephanie was praying that any minute now, Ranger and his men would come through that door. The armed bodyguard was out in the hall. They would have trouble getting past him. She wasn't sure just how long she could keep this crazy man at bay. _Where the hell is Andrew?_ She thought, desperate for any kind of assistance that wouldn't leave her alone with this man a second longer.

"You know that I loved her," he said with agonizing heartache behind every word. "You know that I was the one she was coming to that night…. The night they…."

"No. I didn't know that. I swear." She calmed her voice, hoping he would respond. Stephanie, almost, felt sorry for him; he looked so grief-stricken and lost. "You're a friend of Andrew's. That's all I know."

"Have you been lying to Andrew, or is he in on this, too?" Victor stiffened and glared at her. "Did you think I wouldn't notice the bracelet?" He growled out.

"The bracelet?" Stephanie touched the gift from Andrew.

"I gave her that bracelet." He stalked over to Stephanie and aggressively gripped her wrist. "I gave her this!" He shook her arm roughly. "Three diamonds…one for each of us…Marissa, myself and…our daughter."

Stephanie's heart sunk as the realization of his words hit her. "Madison was _your_ daughter?" Her head was spinning, trying to keep up with the information coming at her.

"How did you get this?" He continued to shake her arm. "Why are you wearing it?"

"I gave it to her." Stephanie and Victor both sharply swung their heads toward the voice. Andrew was standing in the doorway to the bedroom. His face was stone. There was no emotion in his voice.

Stephanie couldn't begin to imagine what was going on in his head. The anger and shock he must feel at the revelation about his wife and daughter. The bracelet…wait….

"You knew." Stephanie stated flatly.

"I suspected." Andrew dryly replied.

"How?" She questioned.

"I told you, I went through her things. I found a letter, a couple of receipts, and her datebook. It wasn't hard to piece the information together. But I wasn't sure it was Victor."

"You used me?" She said to Andrew with a look of genuine betrayal in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Maria." He looked pained and his voice was full of regret. "It was just…I…I didn't do it to hurt you…I needed to know. I hoped I was wrong. But I had to know the truth."

Victor still had hold of Stephanie's arm, and it was beginning to hurt. The angrier he got at Andrew's words, the tighter his grip became. She tried to forcibly shake him off.

"No!" He yelled. "No, no, no, no. You aren't going anywhere." Victor pulled a small gun from his coat pocket, roughly drew Stephanie towards his chest and wrapped the weapon bearing hand tightly around her waist. The hard steel against her stomach made her wince." He looked at Andrew. "You had Marissa! She was married to you for more than five years! You had my daughter! Madison called _you_ daddy!" His tortured voice escalated in volume. "Do you know what that did to me? It was unbearable!"

"God, Victor, you were my closest friend. She was my wife!" Andrew shouted. "I loved her! I loved Madison! You destroyed my family!

Stephanie felt another forceful tremor move through Victor's body. It was if a switch had been flipped. His face changed and his eyes darkened. "She. Loves. Me!" Victor was really losing it now. "Andrew, you are such a fool! We are together every chance we get. She doesn't want to hurt you, so we've been keeping it quiet. All the women, my wild, playboy image, are ruses to keep you from suspecting. It has taken me a long time to convince her to leave you, and now she's here…with me." He rubbed his hand gently against Stephanie's face. "You're wearing the bracelet I gave you. I'm so happy. It's all out in the open now, baby, and we can finally be together."

Victor had officially gone over the edge, and Stephanie was terrified by his rapid change from volatile to delusional. He looked at her with eyes that appeared empty and desperate. She had seen that look on skips before. It always meant trouble. She tried to pull away; he tugged tighter on her waist, digging the gun deeper into her side.

"Owww, Victor you're hurting me."

Andrew was also beginning to understand the depth of the dementia Victor was experiencing, and he was concerned for Maria's safety. "Put the gun away and let her go, Victor. She's not part of this." He begged.

"But she is, Andrew. Don't you see? It's Marissa." He ran his fingers through Stephanie's hair bringing it to his nose to sniff. "She's come back. She couldn't stay away from me. You have been gone so long, Marissa. I've missed you so much." He looked sharply at Andrew. "You don't get to win this time. It's my turn. She belongs with me."

"Victor, she is not Marissa. Her name is Maria. She doesn't know you." Andrew began a slow progression across the living room while he continued to distract Victor with a low, even dialogue. "Maria has a son that she loves. She needs to be safe so she can go back home to him. Victor, look at her." Victor briefly took his suspicious eyes off Andrew and glanced at Stephanie. "See. She's not Marissa. Marissa had a small birthmark just at the top of her left shoulder. Look there, Victor. Maria doesn't have that mark."

"No!" He panicked. "You're trying to trick me. You want her back. I won't let you have her again." Victor started to back away from Andrew's slow advance, awkwardly dragging Stephanie with him as he travelled toward the double door entry to the suite. "We're going to go away now. We just need time to be together. You'll see, Marissa. It will be just like it used to be between us. We'll go someplace warm. Madison loves the beach. We can stay there as long as you like."

"Please don't do this, Victor." Stephanie had tears in her eyes. "Let me go. I don't want to go to the beach. I need to stay here with my son. I'm all he has." Stephanie was terrified that if they left the room, the bodyguard would assist Victor in his delusional plan. She knew Ranger and his men would do anything, at that point, to stop them. Someone could get shot. Someone could die trying to protect her from this mess.

They were just ten feet from the door when it silently opened. Andrew was the only one aware of it. It was Richard. He slowly entered the room, lifted a gun and aimed it at Stephanie and Victor as they continued backing toward the door unaware.

Unsure of the guard's intentions and fearing for Maria's safety, Andrew shouted a warning as he abruptly lunged toward them. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her away from Victor while the momentum of his actions carried her with him to the floor. He remained protectively over her body when he heard the muted discharge of a gun equipped with a silencer, followed by the soft thud of a body dropping limply to the floor.

It seemed like hours, but was only seconds, before all hell broke loose and two large men, with weapons drawn, stormed into the room. They quickly subdued the surprised bodyguard and had him face down on the floor with the weapon secured before Andrew had a chance to realize what was happening. He heard Maria moan.

"Oh god, sweetheart, you're hurt. Maria?" Before he could fully assess her injuries, he felt rough hands grab him, and he was lifted away from her body. His blood-covered hands were cuffed behind his back. Several more men, dressed in black, now filled the room.

"Stephanie!" Ranger was at her side immediately. "Babe, stay with me." He briefly froze at the sight of the blood under her head. "Where the hell is Bobby?" He yelled without taking his eyes off her.

Stephanie moved her head slightly and grimaced in pain. "Where's Carlos? She moaned weakly, her eyes still closed.

"I'm here, Babe, right here. Don't move, amada. We'll help you." He took her hand and brought her fingers to his lips.

"It hurts so much." She whimpered. "I need…Carlos. Is…safe?"

"It's okay, mi querida. Everyone is safe." Ranger was frustrated that she was suffering. "Damn it, Bobby. Do something for her."

When Bobby had finished taking down the bodyguard, he had done a quick check of Giordano's condition. He found a gun lying next to the unconscious man and handed it to Hal. At Ranger's panicked request he moved and settled opposite him near Stephanie's prone body. "She's losing a lot of blood." He turned her head slightly to the side. He located a large gash just behind her right ear. "Giordano's gun never discharged. Looks like she hit the corner of that marble end table during her fall." Tank returned to the room carrying the medical bag. He set it on the floor next to Bobby, who immediately opened it and pulled out a large package of gauze bandages. "Ranger, hold this in place and apply gentle but firm pressure...right here. Tank! Call an ambulance."

Ranger reached across her body and replaced Bobby's hand on the bandage. With his other hand he gently caressed her cheek. Stephanie had lost consciousness.

"What the hell is going on here?" Andrew was furious at being restrained by the intruders. "I need to be with her. My god, did he shoot her? Please, let me help her. Please don't hurt her." No one was responding to him but he kept pleading. "You have to let me go to her! Who are you, and why in hell are you calling her Stephanie?" He continued to struggle against Lester, who was holding him back. He looked at Lester one more time and froze. "I know you. You were at the cabaret. Who the hell are you people?"

Ranger was too concerned about Stephanie to deal with him now. Inside he was falling apart. He attempted to regain control the only way he knew how, by barking commands. "Bobby, Giordano? Is he dead?"

"No boss, the bodyguard shot him with a dart gun. He's just knocked out. He'll be out for a while."

"Good. Cal, Woody, Hal and Binkie, quietly get him and the bodyguard down to the transport before the cops get here. Take Giordano back to Trenton and drop him off at the cop shop. They can deal with the bastard from now on. Take the bodyguard back to RangeMan. Lock him in a holding cell. We need some questions answered."

"Santos! Bobby and I are going with Stephanie. You and Tank deal with the authorities. Find out from Sullivan just what the hell went on here, and explain the new _situation_ to him."

"Sure thing, Ranger." Lester took a very confused and defiant Andrew by the arm and guided him into the bedroom.

Giordano needed to be taken back to New Jersey to be turned in. If it were discovered by the Philadelphia police that he and the bodyguard had been part of this 'accident', they would interfere with that plan. It would be up to Lester to convince Sullivan that it would be in his best interest to go along with the alternative sequence of events they would provide him as a cover story.

"Hector?"

"Si."

"Necesitamos rápido ascendente limpio." (We need clean up fast.) They looked at each other and without another word, it was understood what needed to be done.

Hector nodded and immediately began to remove all traces of Giordano's presence in the room. He removed the third place setting from the dining room table and cleaned up the glass from the shattered drink. When Hector looked at Stephanie, lying injured and unmoving on the floor, it made his blood boil. He had listened to her beg that crazy bastard to leave her alone. He had heard the fear in her voice. They all had. The frustration of not being able to get to her sooner had been evident on all of their faces as they waited.

Ranger looked back at Stephanie, she was so pale. She looked chillingly vulnerable and fragile. "Bobby, how is she?" His voice was rugged with anguish.

Bobby's face was riddled with concern. "Her blood pressure is very low. Her breathing is erratic, and her heartbeat is weak." He very gently lifted her left arm and carefully pressed his fingers along its length. "She may have a broken arm. There's a lot of swelling in her wrist. It looks like she either fell on it when she landed or used it to try to break her fall." He checked her eyes with a penlight. "I'm concerned about her head injury and the possibility of shock. The fact that she's unconscious is not a good sign." He shook his head in frustration. "All we can do here is try to control the bleeding. We'll know more when we get her to the hospital. I'm going to start her on oxygen and get an IV with fluids going. When the ambulance gets here, they'll hook her up to a heart monitor."

Bobby continued to attend to Stephanie while the two prisoners were removed from the scene. Ranger vigilantly remained at her side, never letting go of her hand. He whispered the soft Spanish words of comfort that he knew she responded to in their most intimate moments. He was so focused on her face that he barely noticed when Bobby added another stack of clean gauze to supplement the blood soaked ones under his hand.

Ranger was livid that, once again, he had failed to protect her. When he had heard that Giordano was intending to serve dinner in his room instead of the restaurant, he had scrambled for a new plan. Stephanie had skillfully provided them with the location of her new destination, so he had sent Bobby to the front desk to procure a room on the same floor. Once they had positioned themselves in an empty suite down the hall, they had been relieved to be closer but had been frustrated that they had no eyes in the room. Stephanie had let them know she was okay, but was concerned about Giordano's drunkenness and instability. As he and his men had listened to what was happening in the room, they could tell things were going downhill fast after dinner. When the verbal assaults escalated and there was mention of a gun being pulled, they prepared to move in, but there had been a constant barrage of civilian traffic in the hallway leading to Giordano's room, effectively preventing them from covertly advancing. With an armed guard at the door, they couldn't have risked the public safety. Ram and Bobby had been the only ones dressed in civilian clothing. They had been originally assigned to be stationed inside the restaurant as patrons and were outfitted to blend in. Their opportunity to move had come when a large wedding party stepped off the elevator and headed down the long hallway. As they passed the suite that he and his men were using as a base, Ram and Bobby had stepped out and closely followed the party down the hall toward Giordano's room. They arrived just as the bodyguard entered the suite and fired his weapon. They had been able to subdue the guard and Ram was in the process of lifting Sullivan off of Stephanie's injured body as Ranger entered. His heart had nearly stopped when he took in the scene.

Within thirty minutes the ambulance and the police arrived and Stephanie was treated on sight, safely transferred onto a backboard and gurney, and was whisked away to the local hospital, accompanied by Bobby and Ranger.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger sat so eerily still in the waiting room chair, that Bobby had, more than once, checked him for consciousness. He knew that Ranger could be an incredibly patient man. He had seen him sit for hours on surveillance, deathly calm, hardly ever speaking; scarcely acknowledging his own partner in the vehicle. He had also seen him at his most violent. When managed rage controlled every muscle in his body, Ranger was a deadly force, able to carry out the most dangerous missions. He had saved Bobby's life more than once. They had been together in some of the most godforsaken places on the planet. He had seen Ranger train, prepare and lead an entire unit of men into hell and back. He had seen him ruthlessly interrogate criminals, assassins and military leaders. He had seen him drink but never get drunk, and he had seen him with women…a lot of women. But he had never seen him like this. Just underneath Ranger's deceptively placid facade, Bobby saw the foreign emotions of anguish, despair and fear. Stephanie Plum had an effect on Carlos Manoso that Bobby would never have predicted he'd ever be witness to.

Over the past three years, there had been much speculation around RangeMan about the actual existence of an intimate relationship between Stephanie and Ranger. They all knew the word on the street was that she's 'Manoso's woman' but it seemed to be an elusive affair. Everyone, except those two, could see the special connection they shared almost from the beginning, but no one ever observed much of anything more physical than a casual touch or friendly kiss. Ranger was always there _for_ her, but never _with _her, until recently. If the amount of time he had been spending with Bombshell these last two weeks hadn't given them a clue as to what was going on, the scene some of them witnessed in the control room this morning had. Hell, there was hardly a guy in the company that didn't fantasize about being with Stephanie, and what they would do about it if Ranger did not step up. But after taking in what they saw on the monitor, fantasy is all it would remain. Standing among the men, the general response Bobby heard to the scorching make-out session on the screen had been some bawdy remarks and whistles. But he was pretty sure that, secretly, most of the guys were, like him, in envious awe of the obvious passion igniting between the boss and Bomber.

Bobby had also been in the same vehicle as Ranger, earlier in the evening, when Steph had been at Sullivan's house. From what they all had heard through the wire, things had gotten a little hot and heavy between her and Sullivan. Ranger's demeanor had remained stoic and professional during the entire situation, but more than once Bobby noticed his friend's eyes close, his mouth tighten in a perceptible grimace, and his knuckles turn white from the tight fists he was forming. Those seemingly understated reactions spoke profoundly to Bobby about the depth of Ranger's feelings for this woman.

Yeah. While the doctors and nurses were doing all they could for Stephanie. Bobby Brown would take care of the man in front of him.

It had been almost seven hours since their arrival at the hospital. Ranger was surrounded by his men in an unspoken show of support from brothers bonded to him by trust, mutual respect and a common affection for the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. There was little conversation. Someone had gone for coffee. The nurses had stopped coming by with updates. They were probably too scared. Every time the door opened, at least eight large, armed men would lunge out of their seats or away from their positions against the wall, in desperation for any news of Stephanie's condition. Bobby had begun making regular trips to the nurse's station to bring back the news, or lack there of, instead.

Just after three o'clock in the morning, the door opened and a tall, tired looking man in scrubs walked into the room.

"Mr. Manoso?" He inquired of the large group of men.

Ranger stood. He approached the doctor and nodded. "I'm Carlos Manoso, and this is our company medic Bobby Brown. He'll be working closely with the hospital staff in providing care for Stephanie."

"Mr. Manoso, Mr. Brown. I'm Curtis Payne. I'm Ms. Plum's neurosurgeon."

"How is she?" Ranger was afraid of the answer. The surgeon looked very grim.

"Right now, she's in recovery." He rubbed the back of his neck, indicating the difficulty of the long stressful hours he had spent in the OR. "When she first arrived we ran some tests; cat scan, angiography, x-rays. In addition to the obvious open head wound from the impact of her fall, she has a broken wrist and several bruises." He looked back and forth between Bobby and Ranger and continued his account of her injuries. "She has a basal skull fracture. The possible complication to this particular injury is infection, so we have started her on an aggressive regimen of IV antibiotics. During surgery I cleaned out the wound and cauterized some of the larger ruptured blood vessels to control the extensive external bleeding. She was given blood to replace the copious amounts she initially lost. But our biggest concern is the intracranial hemorrhage. She's suffering from an acute subdural hematoma. This is bleeding between the brain and the skull. The immense pressure it's creating is affecting the body's ability to properly control some of her vital organs. Currently, we have her on a ventilator." He stopped and looked despondent about what he was about to say. "Mr. Manoso, Ms. Plum suffered multiple seizures during surgery. Seizures are not uncommon with a head injury, especially one as severe as hers. But it's a strong indication that she is experiencing a tremendous amount of tissue swelling as well." He put a friendly hand on Ranger's shoulder. "We have her on several medications to help reduce the swelling and prevent infection. We will continue to monitor the pressure from the brain bleed. If the swelling doesn't stop and recede on its own with medication, we will have to return to surgery to relieve the pressure as a last resort. She'll be kept in a medically induced coma for at least the next twelve hours. The next 24 to 48 hours will tell us a lot about her capacity for recovery."

"Are you saying there's a chance she may not recover?" Ranger's heart was slowly breaking. He was finding it hard to take his next breath.

"She's a long way from being out of the woods. Her recovery could be full, partial, or…" He sighed. "Look, Mr. Manoso, you seem like a man who deals best with the truth up front. The truth is…I can't say, at this time, what her chances are. Her injuries are very severe, but she's young and strong, and she made it through a grueling surgery. She has that in her favor." He looked around the room at the waiting men. "It also looks like she has a lot of support from people who care a great deal about her. That counts for a lot. A strong will to live…to return to the people you love, can make all the difference. But even if she survives, she could have a whole slew of complications that will make her recovery quite a struggle." He sighed "It's been a long night for all of us. Why don't you get some rest, and I'll go over more of this information tomorrow with you and Mr. Brown?"

"When can I see her?" Ranger's only thought right now was to get to Steph. He needed to see her, touch her, and talk to her.

"She'll be in recovery for the next hour or so; then she'll be moved to a room in the ICU. The nurse will let you know when it's okay to go in."

Ranger appeared to be at a total loss for what to do next. His thoughts had turned inward and it was obvious that he was no longer completely functional as the boss of RangeMan. Bobby stepped forward. "Doctor, Stephanie was working in an undercover capacity for our security company when she sustained these injuries. It is possible that there could be attempts at retaliation by some very dangerous people for her involvement. We will be stationing at least two guards at her door 24 hours a day. They will also accompany her to any tests or therapies for which she may need to leave her room. Also, either Mr. Manoso or I will be with her inside her room at all times." He gave the doctor his most unyielding, military face. "This is not negotiable and we expect that you and your staff will give us your full cooperation in providing complete protection for her."

"I understand. That won't be a problem Mr. Brown. I'll notify the staff. Please make sure that the charge nurse and hospital security have a written list of your requirements. Now, if you gentlemen don't have any more questions, I am going to check on Ms. Plum in recovery."

Bobby nodded. "Thanks, doc." He said in a relieved response.

Ranger acknowledged the doctor and shook his hand. He looked at Bobby and, without a word, thanked him for what he had just done.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Carlos Manoso walked into his Babe's hospital room with more fear and concern than he had possessed during the storming of the headquarters of the Shiite terror cell in Bahrain last year. In that instance, he knew exactly who the enemy was. He had the intel, the plan, the guns, and the manpower to overwhelm it, and he was pretty confident that he and his men would achieve success in their mission and come out of the situation alive.

All of his first-rate training, all of his extensive field experience in covert and black ops missions, were of no value to him now. The enemy inside this room was untouchable. He had no ability to out-wit it with expert strategy or overpower it with the latest weapons. Neither his vast resources, nor the strength of the Merry Men could be used to deter the course of its impending devastation. The outcome of this incursion was completely out of his hands and he was both terrified and humbled by that fact alone.

His future, his light, his love...was lying there within his reach, but beyond his help.

He waited and he prayed.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	22. Chapter 22

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 22**

The waiting was agonizing. Ranger had not left Stephanie's side since she was brought to her room. She was so still. It had been ten hours since she was moved from recovery. The constant sounds of the ventilator and heart monitor droned in the background as he alternated between anxiously watching over her and dozing lightly in the chair next to her bed. He rarely let go of her hand. He had told her he would always be there for her, and he kept his promises.

Several of the men had remained at the hospital, refusing to leave. Ranger made the safe house available for them as a place to rest, shower, and eat. Ella had come up early in the morning to clean and restock supplies. She stopped by the hospital and brought Ranger a duffel bag of his own things and some of his favorite foods to snack on. She took a few minutes and prayed the rosary over Stephanie. She hugged Ranger and told him that she would continue to petition Christ daily for her recovery and that he should call her if he needed anything else.

Tank had handled all the details of Stephanie's hospital security. He had no trouble finding men to work all the shifts outside her room. They practically fought over the opportunity to help her any way they could.

Tank was worried about Hector who had become unusually withdrawn and tense since the takedown last night. He was aware of the special relationship Hector had with Stephanie. His past associations with gangs, his time served in prison and his alternative lifestyle made no difference to her. Tank had always thought it was interesting that Bombshell, one of the only members of the RangeMan team who did not speak or understand fluent Spanish, had a closer relationship to Hector, who didn't speak much English, than almost anyone else. But he wasn't surprised by it either. It was just her way. She drew people in with her tenacious approach to life and compassionate soul. It was a double-edged sword though, because it not only gave her an endless supply of loyal friends, it drew the crazies as well. This is why he was here at the hospital now. He needed to talk to Ranger about the latest nutcase. He walked slowly into the room, finding his boss and good friend sleeping, slumped back in the chair holding Stephanie's hand. Tank gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Ranger." He quietly called.

Ranger's eyes shot open and quickly focused on his Babe, looking for any possible sign of change. He then realized the weight of the hand on his shoulder and turned to find Tank giving him an apologetic look.

"Do you have anything to report?" Ranger struggled to compose his professional image.

Tank grabbed another chair and pulled it up next to Ranger's. "Lester and I interrogated the bodyguard late this morning. His name is Richard Skovik." He rubbed his hand over his face. "We were right about the Bilotti connection. Skovik was working for them as sort of a double agent. He was told to keep an eye on Victor, and if it looked like he was going to cause trouble and embarrass the family again, his orders were to stop him…by any means necessary. When he realized what was going on in the hotel room with Bomber, he decided to tranq him before it went too far and became a public spectacle. He said he was told to not let anyone else get injured in the process if at all possible. Steph and Sullivan would have been let go with a medical explanation as to Victor's deteriorating mental condition."

"Do you believe him?"

"Yeah, I think Skovik really likes the guy. He's worked for him as his personal bodyguard for a number of years, but wasn't in a position to refuse orders from Dominic Bilotti. So he carried the tranquilizer gun to give himself the option of taking Giordano down without hurting him."

"If we let him go, is he going to cause us trouble?"

"I don't think so. He wasn't happy with being restrained and detained, but he was glad we got him and Giordano out of there before the Philly PD showed up. His job is basically over. He'll have to make a report to the Bilotti family, but since Giordano is in police custody, I don't think we figure into the mix anymore."

"Okay, turn him loose and give him a one way ticket back to New York, courtesy of RangeMan. I don't trust Bilotti, though; keep the security on Stephanie tight."

"Done."

"How did Lester's _conversation_ go with Sullivan?"

"After Lester explained everything to him about the setup, Sullivan was royally pissed, but he still wanted to come to the hospital to see her." He nodded toward Stephanie. "He feels guilty about the bracelet. Lester convinced him it would be better to stay away and promised to call him with regular updates on her condition."

"I don't want him near her." Ranger growled. "That situation is over. If Stephanie wants to talk to him later, I'll set something up."

"Understood."

"What about Giordano?"

"He's been remanded into custody without bond this time. That dude is seriously fucked up. They have him scheduled for a psych evaluation." He shook his head. "I turned in the body receipt to Sebring's office on my way up here this afternoon. The check will be mailed to RangeMan."

"Thanks, Tank." Ranger nodded to his friend. "Anything else?"

Tank was silent.

"What is it?"

"It's Hector."

"Explain."

"This whole…Bomber's injuries. It's hard on all the men, but Hector's not military. He doesn't have the kind of training we have to deal with this kind of thing. He's tightly wound and ready to kill. I've never seen him like this, but you know how he feels about Stephanie, she's like a sister to him. I had to take him off field duty rotation. Lester tried to talk to him, but he's worried that Hector could cause some serious damage if someone just looks at him sideways."

Ranger hadn't given much thought to what the other men were feeling. His focus had been solely on his Babe and compensating for his own pain and guilt. He knew about Hector's special feelings for Stephanie. Hector had been with him the night of Abruzzi's _'suicide'_. It was about protecting her. He never questioned what needed to be done or why. A week later a new teardrop tattoo appeared. Taking care of his own and seeking revenge was a matter of pride to Hector. "Get him over here. I'll talk to him. Maybe it will help him to see her."

"Maybe it will make him worse."

"Maybe. Send him anyway." Ranger sighed. "Anything else?"

"Have you called her parents?" Tank asked hesitantly. He knew this was a sore subject.

"No." Ranger stiffened at the thought.

"Ranger, she's their daughter, they need to be told."

"I know. I was hoping if…I waited…the news would be better. I don't want her mother coming up here, causing trouble and letting the whole Burg in on what's happening. You know how Steph would hate that."

"Talk to her dad, man. He seems reasonable enough. Let him make the decision about what to tell his wife."

"You're right. I'll call after the doctor sees her this afternoon."

"Fair enough." He handed Ranger a piece of paper. "I had Zero run a search. This is Frank Plum's cell phone number. I figured you'd want to bypass calling the house line and talking to her mother." Ranger took the number. Tank looked despondently at Stephanie. It was breaking his heart to see her characteristically vibrant and energetic body so still and weighted down by machines and tubes. "How is she?"

"No change. The doc is due in soon. He's planning to stop the drugs that are inducing the coma sometime today."

"Then?"

"Then we wait. Some more." Ranger put his head in his hands. "Dios, Tank. I don't know. She looks so…. I put her here. I'm responsible for this."

"That's bullshit, Ranger, and you know it. Bomber's here because Giordano is a screwed up son-of-a-bitch, and Sullivan baited him with that damn bracelet."

"We should have gone in sooner. We could hear she was in trouble."

"You know as well as I do that we could not risk putting civilians in the line of fire. There was an armed guard in the hallway. She did everything right. We did everything we could. It just didn't go as planned."

"It never does with her."

Tank uttered a warm chuckle. "No it doesn't. That's why we love her so much. She's unpredictable. Hell, guys like us thrive on that shit. We don't want predictable. We like adventure, and a good challenge." Tank got a mischievous grin on his face. "I'd be willing to bet…our little girl here is very…adventurous and challenging to you…in more ways than one."

Ranger snapped his head around and gave Tank a warning look that he may have just gotten a bit too personal. The two brothers stared at each other for several long seconds. Ranger finally grinned at some memories the statement forced him to relive. He shook his head and sat back in his chair. "She is that, my friend. She is that."

Tank stood and slapped Ranger on the shoulder in support. "It may take a while, but she'll come back to you, Carlos. She's a survivor, and she loves you." Tank walked out and left Ranger to his thoughts. His friend was hurting. He had a company to run for him.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Throughout the day, Stephanie slowly began to make minor improvements. When the doctor had come in to check on her at four o'clock, he was pleased to find that the most recent series of tests had shown that some of the pressure from the hematoma was starting to ease. He discontinued the use of the coma inducing drugs and determined her breathing was stable enough to begin the process of weaning her off the ventilator.

Ranger decided to take Tank's advice and call the Plums. It wasn't going to be easy. He dreaded telling her father that his little girl had suffered such a great injury while in his care. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hello."

"Mr. Plum?"

"Yes."

"Sir, this is Carlos Manoso, Ranger. Stephanie works for me sometimes at RangeMan."

"Yes, Mr. Manoso, I remember you. Stephanie told us she would be out of town for a few weeks while working for you. Has something happened?"

"Sir, Stephanie suffered a bad fall and has been admitted to the ICU at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia."

"ICU! That sounds serious. How bad was this fall? Is she okay? Can I speak to her?"

"Sir, when she fell, she hit her head. She underwent a series of tests and exams followed by surgery late last night to repair some of the damage. She has several different issues involving her head that are being treated and watched." He hesitated and finally continued. "Sir, I think it would be best for you to come here and get more of the details from the doctor in charge of her case and our medic Bobby Brown. I'm sorry but Stephanie has been in a drug-induced coma to assist the healing process. The surgeon is unsure of her recovery at this time, but she has made some improvements since this morning."

"Of course, Mr. Manoso. We'll come right away."

"If you'd like, Mr. Plum, I can have one of my men pick you, your wife and Mrs. Mazur up and have you brought to the hospital. I will also make arrangements for you to stay at one of the local hotels if necessary."

"The ride won't be needed Mr. Manoso. My mother-in-law is in Atlantic City with friends for the weekend. I'll talk to my wife and we'll let you know about the hotel. I'm sure that she'll want to see Stephanie first before making that decision." There was a short pause on the line. "Mr. Manoso, is my daughter going to be okay?"

"I don't know sir. But I promise you she's getting the best care possible. I'll be here at the hospital when you arrive. If you need anything, please call me at this number."

"I will. Thank you. We'll be there soon."

Having completed that difficult task, Ranger took a deep breath and returned to his chair next to Stephanie's bed.

"Babe, I called your parents. They're coming. I promise I won't let your mom go crazy on you." He picked up her hand and kissed it. "I really need you to wake up, Babe. I need to tell you how sorry I am. How much I love you. I need you to fight, Babe…harder than you've ever had to fight before."

"Santa Maria, Madre de Dios!" (Holy Mary, mother of God!)

Ranger quickly turned his head to find Hector standing behind him, an agonizing look disfiguring his usually easy-going face.

When he spoke, Hector's voice was laden with guilt and anger. "¿Dirigimos a hombre, cómo dejamos una cosa tan terrible suceder a nuestro ángel?" (Boss man, how did we let such a terrible thing happen to our angel?)

"¡Héctor, no dejar que esto ocurra. Yo soy responsable de esto. Dejé Stephanie abajo." (Hector, _we_ did not let this happen. I am responsible for this. I let Stephanie down.)

"Ningún jefe, usted es incorrecto. Ella pertenece todos nosotros. Ella es nuestra hermana, nuestro bebé." (No boss, you're wrong. She belongs to all of us. She is our sister, our babe.) He stepped closer to the bed and gently laid his right hand over her heart. "Ella le da a este tan fácilmente. Se le abre por mucho daño y el dolor." (She gives this so easily. It exposes her to too much hurt and pain.) Hector's tone became hard and hateful. "Quiero matar al hombre que hizo esto a ella. Ella necesita ser protegido como antes." (I will kill the man who did this to her. She needs to be protected like before.) His left hand was clenched in a tight fist. Ranger could feel the rage seething from his shaking body.

"Héctor, Stephanie no quiero verte sufriendo con tanta ira. Ella necesita que usted esté aquí cuando se despierta. Ella tendrá que todos sus amigos. Tenemos que demostrar su amor ... no ira." (Hector, Stephanie would not want to see you hurting with so much anger. She needs you to be here when she wakes up. She will need all of her friends. We have to show love to her…not anger.)

Hector's voice calmed to an eerie sadness. "Me duele verla así." (It hurts to see her this way.)

"Ya lo sé." (I know.)

"Me gustaría tomar su lugar en un instante." (I would take her place in a heartbeat.)

"Sé que lo haría." (I know you would.)

"No he llorado lágrimas de verdad en mucho tiempo. Pero los verdaderos caer tan fácil hoy en día." (I have not cried tears in a long time. But the real ones fall so easy today.)

"Hector?" Ranger put a hand on his shoulder.

"Si."

"No maten a nuestros Babe este momento. Que sólo las lágrimas reales, muestran en su cara por ella." (Don't kill for our Babe this time. Allow only real tears to appear on your face for her.)

Hector slowly nodded his head. He took her uninjured hand in his, leaned over and kissed Stephanie at her temple; then he whispered something into her ear. He remained there for a few long seconds and finally stepped away and left the room without a look back.

When Ranger resumed his place at her side, he found, tucked into her hand, a silver medal on a chain. He gently lifted her fingers and admired the finely detailed image of St. Joan of Arc. He flipped it over and inscribed on the back in French were the words: "Saint Joan will obtain for you the power to combat all evil."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie's parents arrived early in the evening. The doctor spent time with them going over the details of her injuries, the improvements he had seen during the day and his concerns for the difficulties of her recovery. After the doctor left, Helen Plum's calm demeanor surprised Ranger. She was obviously upset at her daughter's condition, but showed no trace of disappointment or made no accusations about the events that led to it. She stood at Stephanie's side and spoke loving and supportive words, while gently rubbing her arm and cheek.

"Mr. Manoso…"

"Please, Frank, call me Carlos, or Ranger if you prefer."

"Very well, Carlos, what can you tell us about how Stephanie got hurt?"

"As you already know, Stephanie was working for me. She was operating undercover, in an attempt to help us recapture a man who had missed his court date. She was close to convincing him to leave the hotel so that we could apprehend him. Another man on the scene thought she was in danger at one point, and knocked her down in an attempt to protect her. She inadvertently hit her head on a marble table in the room during the fall. All of her injuries stem from that innocent gesture. I couldn't get to her in time to stop it from happening. I'm sorry. I failed her."

"Carlos," Helen Plum quietly laid a hand on his arm in a gracious gesture. "Stephanie has always had very good things to say about you. She admires and trusts you a great deal. We…," She looked awkwardly at her husband; "…_I_ have not always been very supportive of this job of hers. I am terrified at the kind of dangerous situations she seems to constantly be finding herself in. As a parent, I want her to always be safe." She pulled Ranger down into a chair and sat next to him as if a lecture were forthcoming.

"Helen, We talked about this, I don't think now is the time…."

"It's alright, Frank, I need to say this." They stared at each other for a few seconds.

She looked at Ranger for permission to continue. He nodded his head.

"It wasn't until the day I saw her being chased down the road by that awful man in the rabbit suit that I realized how quickly and easily her life becomes endangered through the process of helping other people. I was the one who asked her to help find that little girl and her mother as a favor for our next-door neighbor. The events that followed almost got her killed." Helen looked down into her lap. "I felt terribly guilty for a long time." She raised her head back up to Ranger with a knowing look. "Much like the way, I'm sure you're feeling now because you believe that this is your fault."

She got out of the chair, stood next to her daughter and lovingly brushed some matted curls from her face. "But I have learned that, for some strange reason, Stephanie is happy when she's doing this work. She knows the risks and does it anyway. God knows, I have tried to get her to stop. I've cajoled, threatened and, I'm embarrassed to say, even tried to manipulate her life to make her fit into my expectations of what happiness is." She shook her head and gave a slight chuckle. "I think I knew from the day she jumped off the garage in an attempt to fly, that she would never be the typical Burg girl, wife, and mother. She must have gotten all her stubbornness from me, because it didn't stop me from trying to change her. Our relationship is like oil and water, but she keeps coming home. She keeps subjecting herself to my constant disappointment and criticism of her life. Stephanie never gives up on people. She's very loyal."

Ranger responded absentmindedly. "That's what I love most about her." When he realized what he had revealed to her parents, he looked up to face them both. "I love Stephanie very much."

Helen laughed. "Carlos, I think the only person that's news to, is you…and probably Stephanie." She glanced up at Frank who had a shocked look on his face. "And I guess my husband as well." She looked back at Ranger. "Stephanie is very lucky to have someone love her that understands who she is and what she needs."

Ranger just looked at Helen Plum in shock. He never expected to hear those words from her. "I will always make sure she has what she needs."

"I know. That's why we're leaving now." She hesitantly placed her hand over Ranger's heart. "Stephanie has everything she needs right here." She took a step back. "We're going to stay in Philadelphia tonight." She looked at her husband and he nodded in agreement. "We'll be back in the morning."

A bewildered Ranger shook hands with Frank as Helen gathered her coat and purse and headed for the door. Not one to forget her Burg manners, she turned before leaving. "Goodnight, Carlos, when Stephanie's better, we'll expect you both for dinner."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The days that followed were difficult. Shortly after her parents left the first night, Stephanie suffered a seizure. The doctor immediately ordered more tests and changed one of her medications. By Sunday afternoon, Helen had finally convinced Ranger to step away from the hospital for a while; promising that, along with her, both Frank and Bobby would stay at her side. It was while Ranger was gone that Stephanie suffered yet another seizure, and this time the doctor rushed her back into surgery. The pressure from the subdural hematoma had increased again and required him to drill a small burr hole to drain the accumulated fluid. Bobby phoned and Ranger was furious with himself for leaving. He arrived back in the hospital as Stephanie was once again heading into recovery.

"Bobby, what the hell happened? How is she?" Panic laced his words. His eyes were wild with fear.

"Calm down, Ranger, I just spoke with the doc. He's very pleased with the way things went in surgery. No complications. She's resting comfortably in recovery now."

"I never should have left her."

"There was nothing you could have done to prevent the seizure. You were with her last night when she had one. It's all a result of the pressure on her brain. This surgery they performed should alleviate that now." Bobby shook his head at his friend. "You've got to relax, man. You're going to run yourself into the ground if you keep this up. When was the last time you slept anyway?"

"I'm fine."

"You're not. You look like shit!" Bobby knew he was cutting close to the edge by talking to Ranger like this. But his military medical training had taught him to recognize the symptoms of battle fatigue and Ranger was a textbook case. "You need to eat a real meal, and you need to sleep for longer than a few minutes!" He rose to his full height, put his hands on his hips and gave Ranger his best authoritative look. "If you don't do both soon, I swear I'll get Tank, Cal and Hal over here to hold you down, while I sedate you and hook you up to a feeding tube!"

Ranger glared at Bobby and got right up into his face, but neither of them budged.

"Carlos, why don't you take me down to the cafeteria? I haven't eaten since breakfast either. They had baked chicken breasts and a lovely salad bar when I was down there last night. We'll have a nice meal together and after that, you can go back to Stephanie's room and sleep for a bit. She'll be in recovery for a while anyway. I'm sure that would satisfy your friend. Would that work for you, Mr. Brown?"

Helen Plum wrapped her arm around Ranger's and was already pulling him down the hall, as Bobby nodded. Stunned. She was in full Burg housewife mode! In less than thirty seconds she had effectively manipulated two tense, muscle bound, highly trained, armed men with her mothering words. They never knew what hit them.

As they entered the elevator, Ranger had a vague understanding of how Stephanie felt every time she went home for dinner.

Fortunately, the second surgery seemed to effectively speed up her recovery. By Monday afternoon, the ventilator had been completely removed, the seizures had stopped and Stephanie was beginning to show signs of restlessness. It was late the next evening, as Ranger sat alone by her side in the dimly lit hospital room, that she opened her eyes for the first time in four days.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	23. Chapter 23

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 23**

Just as Stephanie began to gain a sense of awareness, her night nurse, Megan, walked into the room. She asked Ranger to move to the end of the bed so she could check Steph's vitals and record the status of her many machines and monitors.

"Good, she's waking up." Her cheerful voice sounded encouraged. "I'm going to get her doctor. He just happens to be down the hall." She pushed the call button on the bed. "Mary, will you get Curtis down here, Ms. Plum is waking up."

Less than thirty seconds later, the door opened and the man that Ranger had become quite familiar with, over the last few days, entered.

"Well, Megan, what's this I hear about Sleeping Beauty?" He smiled enthusiastically.

"Her vitals are good. Her heart rate has picked up. She's opened her eyes a couple of times in the last few minutes, but she hasn't responded to any verbal stimulation yet."

The doctor looked at Ranger's concerned face. "Don't worry, Carlos, it will take her some time to get back to us. She's been asleep for a while. It's like waking up after a night of heavy drinking. Head hurts like hell, everything is out of focus, and there's confusion as to what's going on. Now multiply that by ten, and you'll have an idea about how she's going to feel for the next few hours."

When the doc mentioned drinking, immediately 'the cure' came to Ranger's mind. A large coke and fries from McDonald's wasn't going to get her over this hangover. "I understand. How long before we know anything?"

"Let's keep the lights low, it will be less irritating to her eyes and easier on her headache. For now, we just reassure her that we're here, and that she's all right. You may have to answer the same questions from her repeatedly. She could come in and out of consciousness for the next several hours before she's fully awake. Then we'll talk to her. That will give us the best indication as to where she stands, but we'll follow it up with some more tests."

"I hate needles." The voice was scratchy and weak.

Curtis looked down as Stephanie opened her eyes. He smiled at her and took the cup of water with a straw that Megan handed him. "Try some of this; it will help your throat."

Stephanie slowly swallowed some water, closing her eyes at the relief it brought. She reopened them and her face changed to a look of puzzlement. "Hospital?"

"Yes, you had a bad fall and injured your head. How do you feel right now?" He could see the wheels turning as she tried to recall her last memories.

"Kinda...foggy." She closed her eyes as she mumbled the words. The brief, taxing task had worn her out, and she returned to sleep.

The pattern continued throughout the night. Stephanie would wake; ask the same questions to either the nurse or Ranger and then fall back into sleep. Ranger never tired of answering. He was just thrilled to see her eyes again. He hadn't realized before how much he had missed them. Even in the subdued light of the room, they reflected her familiar inner strength and determination. Although there never seemed to be any recognition on her part that he was there, Ranger felt relieved and more optimistic about her recovery than he had since she had become injured.

Lester arrived well before dawn the next morning.

"Hey, boss, how's Beautiful this morning?" He handed Ranger a large hot coffee and could tell by his upbeat demeanor and relaxed face that the news was going to be good.

"She's starting to come around. She opened her eyes several times last night and asked some questions. She's not very coherent though. She's been asleep for the last three hours."

He handed Ranger a good-sized shopping bag with an ear splitting grin on his face. "That's great. I guess Ella had a premonition or something, because she sent this bag of girly stuff for her." He bent over Stephanie and planted a kiss on her forehead.

Ranger looked inside the bag to find a selection of personal care products that were Stephanie's favorites and smiled at the thought of her using them once again. He set the bag on the table next to the bed and took a long drink of the coffee. "Why are you here, Santos? I was expecting Bobby this morning."

"I'm here so you can take a shower and change." Lester knew that Ranger didn't want Stephanie alone for a minute, and, currently, the boss and Bobby were not exactly seeing eye-to-eye. Things between them were tense. "Bobby had some paper work to get done this morning. He'll be in later. Besides I needed to see my girl. I promised Sullivan I'd give him regular updates, if he promised to stay away. Now I can give him a more credible, eyewitness report".

Ranger just grunted and took another drink of his coffee. He didn't even want to think about Andrew Sullivan. But Lester didn't seem to be done with the subject.

"Not that I'm surprised, but that man has is bad for Bombshell here." He continued unwittingly. "He feels pretty responsible and guilty for exposing her to Giordano and the whole bracelet thing. I don't think he'll stay away very long. He really wants to see her."

"Yeah? Well, let him try. I've got two men at that door, and they have other ideas about him getting a chance to visit. What is this guy, your new best friend?" Ranger's reply was acidic.

The sour tone of jealously was not lost on Lester. "No! I'm just saying…he's not a bad guy. He really cares about Steph. He just got himself into a bad situation with her, and he regrets it, that's all."

Ranger didn't even respond. He grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom.

Lester took Ranger's seat by the bed and captured Stephanie's hand in his. He soothingly rubbed his thumb across her knuckles and sat there; lost in thought, recalling the various circumstances he had found himself in with her. Some were comical, and Lester chuckled as he brought to mind the time they had both ended up covered in cat litter. Bomber had been receiving threatening post-it notes from a kinky stalker. Ranger had ordered that she have a RangeMan _babysitter_, as she referred to them, with her at all times. It had been his lucky day. They were after her skip, Freddie Whittman and had caught up with him where he worked at The Pet Emporium. Bomber had a history with this guy, so Lester had come in from the back and Steph from the front door. When Freddie had caught sight of her, he had taken off running through the store, disappearing somewhere between aisles five and seven. Steph and Lester had ended up standing next to each other in aisle six after having coming up empty handed in the search. They had just looked at each other shaking their heads in disbelief when copious amounts of cat litter had started raining down on their heads. Whittman had climbed to the top shelf and had started slashing twenty-five pound bags with his utility knife. He had jumped down thinking he had created enough of a diversion for a clean get-away for himself, but he slipped on the bouncing litter and knocked himself unconscious on the corner of a dog house display.

Other memories were sweet. Like the night a few weeks ago when she had been so distraught in the RangeMan garage over her relationship situation with Ranger, and Lester had driven her home. He smiled at the recollection of his little _talk_ with Ranger afterwards.

But his favorite memory had to be the first night of the Giordano job at the cabaret. What he had seen that night, he had been totally unprepared for. In the past, Beautiful had never failed to disappoint during her distractions, coming up with some outrageous outfits and pick-up lines to motivate the skips, but that night she had surprised everyone of the guys with her performance. And the look of admiration and total awe on Ranger's face had been priceless. Lester and Steph had danced through almost two songs before…..

"Lester?"

Lester was pulled from his musings and looked up to see Stephanie watching him with a grin on her face. "Hey, Beautiful! It's good to see that smile of yours again."

"How long have I been here?" Her voice was coarse and fragile.

"Since Friday, uh…you've been out of it for four days. You want a drink?" He stood and lifted the straw to her lips. She took a long drink and her face contorted in pain.

"What happened to me? I feel like my head's going to explode."

Lester wasn't quite sure how much to explain to her, so he chose a safer route and asked her the questions instead. "What's the last thing you remember, Beautiful?"

Stephanie closed her eyes and turned her head toward the ceiling. Her mind was so murky with bits and pieces of information floating around just outside her grasp of comprehension. "I…remember…being inside a house…a picture of a little girl…it doesn't make any sense to me."

"That's okay, Beautiful, you rest and it will all come back to you. You hit your head pretty hard in the accident."

Stephanie took on a look of immediate concern and panic. "Accident? Oh god, where's Carlos? Is he okay?"

"Honey, calm down, just relax, Carlos is…."

"Was he with me…in the car? Stephanie was fraught with terror. "Did we have an accident?" She was imagining the wors,t and she was intensely agitated. "Lester, where the hell is my son?" She screamed, unable to listen to his attempts to calm her. Alarms started going off on her machines, and she grabbed her head in pain. "Oh god, Carlos, oh god, no, no, no."

Ranger flew out of the bathroom as she continued to cry for her son, inconsolably. Megan came through the door at the same time, followed by a doctor that Ranger had not seen before. All attempts to calm Stephanie were futile and they ended up sedating her through her IV to avoid self-injury from her panicked state. She slowly slumped back onto the bed and eventually passed out, while still moaning Carlos' name…tears streaming down her face.

The doctor gave Megan a few orders, spent several minutes writing information in the chart, and left. Megan began settling Steph back under the covers, and checking her IV lines and bandages for displacement. Ranger hovered over her; holding her hand and running soothing touches across her face. Lester sat back down in the chair, leaning forward with his head in his hands.

"Santos, what the hell happened?"

Lester looked up at Ranger. "She started asking questions about…her son Carlos. She's convinced they were in some kind of accident and that her child was also hurt. She wanted to know where he was. I tried to tell her…. I couldn't get her to listen. She just…freaked out."

"Her son?" Ranger repeated.

Megan stopped what she was doing and looked puzzled. "I didn't know she had a child."

"She doesn't." Ranger answered vaguely as he contemplated the situation. "Megan, can you get Curtis here as soon as possible? I want to know what's going on with her."

"I'll page him right away. The sedative Dr. Seever gave her should keep her under for at least a couple of hours." Megan finished up with getting Stephanie settled and left the room.

Ranger turned to Lester. "Did she recognize you?"

"She called me by name. It was the first thing she said." Lester was confused. "Why would she recognize me, and then think I would know something about her son? It doesn't make any sense."

"You're her brother."

"Her bro…you mean from her cover story during the job?"

"Lester, get a hold of Bobby, I want him here when the doc comes in. And stick around; you may be the only one she'll respond to when she wakes up." Lester stepped out of the room to make the call. Ranger brought Stephanie's fingers to his lips and kissed them. He then lightly stroked her temple, gently pushing her curls off her face, and spoke softly to her. "What's going on in there, Babe? Where have you gone?"

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

When Curtis returned to the hospital, Dr. Seever and Megan gave him a brief update. He then stepped into Stephanie's room to check on her. Ranger stood immediately as he entered.

"Curtis, thanks for coming in. This is Lester Santos. He's one of my employees and a good friend to both Stephanie and me."

The doctor shook hands with Ranger and then Lester. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Santos." He acknowledged Bobby by nodding in his direction. He turned to the bed. "Carlos, tell me about what happened with Stephanie earlier."

Ranger and Lester explained the incident in detail. Curtis put his hand on his chin in thought at the information he was given.

"Why would she believe she has a child?" He asked.

"Bobby told you when she first came in that Stephanie was working undercover for our bond enforcement division when she became injured. One of her jobs is to create a distraction for the person we're after. She lures them into position so my men can safely make the apprehension without involving innocent civilians. During these distractions, it's common for Stephanie to use a different name and create a false back story to enhance the diversion and protect her identity." Ranger rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. "This last job was different. It required Stephanie to spend an extended period of time living as a woman named Maria Granger. We moved her into one of our safe houses here in Philadelphia and gave her everything she needed to literally become this woman. She altered her hair color, and wore contacts that changed the color of her eyes. It was important that the man we needed to apprehend believed she was Maria Granger. Her cover story included a deceased husband, a brother," Ranger nodded toward Lester, "and a son named Carlos."

"I see." Curtis was deep in thought. "Did you notice before the accident if she was having any trouble with the assignment? I mean, was she becoming overly stressed or concerned about her role?"

Ranger looked down at Stephanie's peaceful form. "She was disturbed about her part in the deception. By necessity, there was an innocent man involved with her role as Maria. He became increasingly attracted to Maria and we used that to our advantage. It bothered Stephanie that he was being deceived. We had several conversations about it."

"Well that's quite a story." Curtis took a step toward the bed. "The mind is a tricky, complicated thing, Carlos. Let's assume for now that when she wakes up again she will still believe that she _is_ Maria Granger. Judging from her last reaction, we are going to have to do everything to keep her from getting upset again. We can't have a repeat of her earlier outburst. I am going to run some tests to make sure her extremely agitated response didn't negatively affect her condition. Regardless of the truth of her identity, we're going to have to go along with whatever keeps her calm. Our first priority has to be her physical recovery. When she's more stable, we can focus on the memory issues."

Ranger gripped her hand tightly. "Is there a chance that she won't ever remember who she really is?

"My speculation is that this is only temporary. Even though we were able to relieve the pressure of the subdural hematoma during surgery, she still has quite a bit of swelling in the surrounding tissues. This is most likely the cause of her confusion. The medications will continue to slowly reduce that inflammation and we should eventually see some improvement in her symptoms."

"Thanks doc. We'll make sure to control who Steph sees and what she's told. Will you inform the hospital staff?" Bobby shook Curtis' hand. "Let me know when you have those tests scheduled. Our men will be ready to follow."

"I'll talk to Megan before she goes off shift. She'll take care of making sure the rest of the staff follows the instructions." Curtis started to head out the door, but stopped and turned. "Carlos, you said that she called Lester by name this morning. You were with her all night when she woke several times. Did she recognize you or use your name?"

"No."

"If she doesn't remember you, your presence here could be very disturbing to her. You may have to leave. Bobby, too. Can you handle that?"

"I'll do what I have to…if it's best for Stephanie."

"Okay. I'll go set up those tests. I want to be here the next time she wakes up so I won't be far." Curtis left the room.

The three men stood in silence for a brief time. Finally, Bobby spoke.

"Ranger, if we're going to do this right, we need a plan. We need to write down everything we know about her cover story and we need to decide how to handle the questions she's going to ask about her son. For now, Lester is going to have to be the one to work with her. We can bring in others as she mentions them."

Lester stood up. "Who else would there be? Almost everyone in her cover was imaginary. Her son was just a picture of Ranger. Her husband is dead. Her mother-law? She talked about her, but never gave her a name. Do you think she had someone in mind, like she did with me as her brother?

"She never mentioned any name to me." Ranger replied.

"The only other people directly involved with Maria Granger were, Giordano, Skovik and…Sullivan." Lester wanted to take the name back as soon as he said it.

Ranger grunted. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now let's just get her to talk to Lester. We need to see what she remembers." Ranger was back in charge. He had a goal, and he needed a plan to win back his Babe's memory. "Santos, call Hector. Have him get some communication and surveillance equipment down here. If I can't be in this room, I want to see and hear what's going on at all times. Bobby, see if we can commandeer an empty room on this floor as a base, if not, we'll have to set up in a com van in the parking lot." Lester and Bobby took off to follow their orders. Ranger took out his cell phone and dialed. "Tank, how cooperative has security been here at the hospital?"

Ranger spent a few minutes bringing Tank up to speed on the situation. Getting clearance to install surveillance equipment in the hospital room was going to be tricky. He told Tank to make a sizable donation to the hospital's neurology department to buy their permission if they balked at the request.

Three hours and $500,000 of Ranger's personal fortune later, Hector was finishing up the installation of the cameras and audio, and Ranger, Bobby and Lester were gathered in front of the blank monitors located down the hall in a room conveniently and _recently_ marked with a sign reading, 'Remodeling – Pardon Our Mess'.

Ranger had been thinking long and hard about the right way to approach Stephanie the next time she woke up. If they chose to promote the lie about her identity, he was afraid that decision would come back to haunt them.

"Santos, when Stephanie wakes up, I want you to follow her lead. Assure her that she was the only one injured and everyone else is fine. If she settles down after that I want you to carefully start telling her the truth about her real identity."

Both Lester and Bobby looked at him in astonishment.

"Boss, are you sure? You know what the doc said about keeping her calm."

Bobby jumped in. "Ranger, I don't think that's a very good idea. She could really harm her recovery if she breaks down again. That's taking a very big risk isn't it?"

"I know Stephanie. She would want the truth. She hates being manipulated and lied to." He looked directly at Lester. "If she thinks there is a child, she'll want you to produce him. We can't do that. That will aggravate her even more. She'll think your hiding something awful from her, and you'll lose her trust, and she'll shut down. She needs to be able to trust you, Lester. You'll be the only person she thinks she can depend on. You have to tell her the truth."

"Okay, if you're sure." Lester was shaking his head. The task he was about to undergo was daunting. Stephanie's mental and physical welfare were being placed in his hands. "I'm going to go back to her room now. She could wake up at any time."

Ranger nodded, slapped Lester on the back in a friendly gesture of encouragement, and turned toward the monitors that were now projecting the images and sounds from Stephanie's room.

Helen and Frank Plum had arrived earlier, and Ranger had informed them of the situation with Stephanie's memory and his plans to deal with it. He had offered to let them sit in the monitor room and observe, but they decided that, at least for now, they would return to Trenton, take care of a few things, check on Grandma Mazur and return the next day. Ranger promised regular updates. They had been sitting with Stephanie while Ranger's man installed the cameras and microphone. Helen was a little more than shocked when the dangerous looking Hispanic man, with all the strange tattoos, carefully leaned over her daughter, whispered something Spanish in her ear, placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and nodded to them before leaving the room.

Lester walked through the hospital room door, past Ram and Cal who were on duty. Stephanie's parents realized that this was their cue to leave and began to gather their things.

As she put on her coat, Helen spoke to Lester. "Mr. Santos, take good care of Stephanie for us. She's so lucky to have friends like you that care about her so much. I'm beginning to understand why she finds her job so appealing."

"Mrs. Plum, Stephanie is one of my favorite people on the planet. I would do just about anything to help her and make sure she's okay."

"I want you and Mr. Brown to come to dinner next Sunday night." She started out the door. "And bring that nice young man who put all the cameras and things in here, too."

Lester smiled. "We'll have to check our schedules, ma'am, but that's a nice offer. I'll let Bobby and Hector know about your invitation."

It wasn't long after Lester settled himself once again, that Stephanie began to stir. He patiently waited for her to fully come around before speaking.

"Hello again, Beautiful." He gave her his boyishly charming smile. "Before you say anything and get upset, I want you to know that you were not in a car accident. You fell. No one but you was injured. Everyone you know and love is fine. Do you understand?"

Stephanie listened and nodded in response.

"Okay, this is what's going to happen. Your doctor is going to come in and do a checkup. He's going to ask you some questions to help determine how your recovery is going. You can ask him all the questions you want about your injuries. He will answer them honestly. When he's finished and he leaves, you and I will talk about how you got here and what you remember. Is that all okay with you?'

"Yes, Lester, but I need to know right now about Carlos. Where is he? Is he with Ella?

Lester was completely thrown by this and didn't want to promote the lies, so he vaguely responded. "He's fine. Ella has been taking good care of all of us."

At that moment, the door opened and Curtis walked into the room.

"Well, it's nice to see you awake, my dear. I was beginning to worry that I had lost my touch. Usually beautiful women can't help but be captivated by my charm and witty personality, but until now, you've slept through every one of my visits." Curtis checked the readout on one of the machines. "Looks like your blood pressure is back to normal. You gave us quite a scare earlier. How are you feeling right now?"

Stephanie was taken in by his warm eyes and easy bedside manner. "I have one hell of a headache, and I would very much like to get rid of some of these tubes coming from my body."

"Well if you keep making improvements, that will be the plan. Let's back it up a little bit, shall we? My name is Dr. Curtis Payne. I'm the lucky guy who got an up close and personal look inside your head in surgery several days ago." He reached out his hand to Stephanie. She responded and weakly shook it with a grin on her face.

"You've got to be kidding, right? I mean, I can't believe your name is Payne. My surgeon's name is Dr. _Payne_? Well, you really live up to your name, Doc. Whatever you did in there is causing me a great deal of pain." She grimaced and then remembered her manners. "Hello, Dr. Payne. My name is…," Stephanie hesitated, "…my name is…oh my god. I don't know my name?" She was beginning to panic again. "It's there, I just can't…"

"It's okay, that's normal with a head injury like yours. It will come to you soon." He put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "You can call me Curtis, by the way. Most of my patients do. Dr. _Payne _doesn't exactly inspire a great deal of confidence and comfort. But I do have it better than my brother. He's a proctologist. When he's doing examinations, he's a real Payne in the ass."

Stephanie groaned at the joke. "Great, you're a comedian, too."

"It's all part of the full service treatment at TJU. We can't let our patients think it's all serious work going on here. They might just start to expect miracles." He pulled up a chair next to the bed. "I'm going to go over your injuries and what we've done. If you have any questions or if you are confused about anything I say, I want you to let me know. Okay?"

"Okay."

Curtis spent the next several minutes giving Stephanie detailed information about her surgery and other injuries. He was very thorough and easy to follow. She hadn't even noticed the cast on her broken wrist until he mentioned it. When he finished, she had only one question.

"Dr…I mean, Curtis. You never once, this whole time, have called me by my name. Why not?"

Curtis looked briefly at Lester. "I know, from when you briefly awoke earlier, that you are experiencing some confusion about remembering certain things. All of this will come back to you. I'm going to let Lester here fill you in on your missing thoughts. My giving you information could just confuse you more. But I will be happy to answer any of your medical questions that arise. Just let your nurse know, and she will contact me." He stood and left the room.

"Okay, little brother. What exactly is the good doctor _not_ saying?" Stephanie was tired and agitated.

Lester maintained a cool response. "Nothing, Beautiful, he gave you all the information on your injuries. No surprises, nothing left out."

"Then why do I get the feeling that I don't know half of what's going on right now?"

He took her hand and kissed it. "Because, you don't. That's what we're going to talk about."

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	24. Chapter 24

This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...

**Scent of a Woman**

**Chapter 24**

"Lester…I'm so scared."

"What are you scared of, Beautiful?"

"Not knowing. Not remembering."

"Let's try something, okay?" Lester stood up from his chair and picked up a bag that was sitting on the small love seat in the corner of the room. He returned, but this time he gently scooted Stephanie over to the side, pushed the buttons to raise the head of the bed and climbed in next to her, carefully shifting her medical lines and wires out of the way. "I got this notebook and pen downstairs in the hospital gift shop. Since you're wounded, I'll write." He winked at her in jest.

Stephanie gave him a quizzical grin in return. "What are you going to write?"

"I want you to tell me everything you remember about yourself. Names, dates, places, objects, whatever pops into your mind. I'll write it down, and then we'll work on the holes."

"Okay, but it's not much. Everything is kind of fuzzy. It's like my mind is wearing glasses that are the wrong prescription. Faces and events come in and out of focus so quickly, I can't quite get a grip on them…and I'm so tired."

"Well let's start with something easy then. You know me right?"

"Yes." She pushed out in a weak giggle. "You're Lester, and you're my brother."

"How do you know that?"

"Because when I look at you I feel loved and safe. You help me and you take good care of Carlos. He loves you. We both do. You're just…well you're Lester, that's how I know."

"Do you have any memories of us doing anything together?

"I remember your car. It's a really beautiful red Mustang." She slyly grinned at him. "You drive it way too fast." She turned inward again. "I remember…being at the movies. You threw popcorn at me…and…and you were teasing me."

"What was I teasing you about?"

"I…can't remember." Lester could see her eyes shifting back and forth as she struggled with her thoughts. "Wait…a man. You were teasing me about talking to a man." She gave up. "That's all I've got."

"Do you have any memories of me actually being with Carlos? Can you think of any time that the three of us were together?"

Stephanie looked deep in thought. "No." She finally replied.

"That's okay." Lester wrote a few things in the notebook.

"What about you and Carlos? Can you think of any instance where you spent time with him?"

"I know he's beautiful. I can picture his face. His eyes are like chocolate, they make me melt when I look into them." Her voice got soft and wispy and she smiled sweetly.

"Do you remember holding him? Tucking him into bed? Buckling him into his car seat?

"His room is decorated in a fireman theme. The wallpaper border is covered with fire trucks and Dalmatian dogs wearing hats." Stephanie was starting to worry that she couldn't answer his questions.

Lester persisted. "Honey, do you remember ever changing his diaper or drying his tears when he cried?

Tears of her own started running down her face as she struggled. "No. No, I don't. What kind of a mother doesn't remember holding her son?" Stephanie looked at Lester like she was lost. It broke his heart. "Why can't I remember anything more about my son, Lester?"

Lester took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His voice was soft and consoling. "Because, Sweetie, you don't have a son."

Stephanie's head snapped up. "Of course I have a son. Why would you say that to me?"

"Because, it's true."

Stephanie put a quivering hand to her shocked face. "Lester, don't say that. You're scaring me. I have a son. I remember his name…I can see his face. He's my son. I'm responsible for him. Ric left him to me...he...he…" Her eyes widened with the sudden realization of the new memory. "Oh my god, Ric." Her voice was getting panicked again and she started sobbing.

"Sh, sh, sh. Listen to me." He wrapped his arm carefully around her waist, pulled her as close as her injuries would allow and gently rocked her back and forth. "Your head injury is causing you some trouble. It's creating memories that are not completely true. I want you to know the truth. Honey, you need to know the truth."

Stephanie's tears and painful moans of denial slowly turned into whimpers and she eventually stilled. Lester looked down at her face. Exhausted, she had fallen asleep in his arms.

Lester delicately got out of the bed and lowered Stephanie's head back onto the pillow.

Thirty seconds later, Ranger came through the door. He went straight to Stephanie and touched her face, wiping the still wet tears with his thumb.

Lester stood looking out the window. "What do you think?"

"She's really confused." Ranger spoke softly. "When she wakes up she may not even remember the conversation you just had. This could be tougher than we thought, but what you said to her was good. She can't keep on believing she has a child."

"Bobby gave me the idea of writing things down. He says that it will give her another sense to work with. She won't just be hearing the words; she'll also be able to see them. And she can add to the list on her own so she can start processing the information."

"Good, keep it up. When she wakes up again, Megan wants her to start eating some solid foods. Ella is bringing in a few of her favorites. See if you can get her to eat."

Lester nodded, but kept his gaze focused outside. "Do you think we're doing the right thing with her, Ranger?"

"Yes."

"You do understand that, bit by bit, I'm taking away from her everything she believes to be true. Her world is being erased before her eyes." He shook his head. "What are we leaving her with other than confusion and sheer terror?"

"It's time to start filling her in on the truth. Give her facts to focus on and think about. Give her reality to try to remember."

"Do you want me to tell her about you?"

"Not yet. Just give her the information about the Giordano job. Tell her what her role was and how her she helped RangeMan capture him."

Lester heaved a heavy sigh. "You're the boss."

"Do you need a break? I'll stay until she starts to wake up again."

"Yeah, I'm going to take a short walk. I won't be gone long or far."

Lester left the room and Ranger stayed by Stephanie's side, vigilantly watchful for any sign of her stirring. He gently kissed her cheek and a single tear dropped from his face onto hers. "Dios, I'm so sorry, Babe. I'm sorry that this is going to be so painful for you. I'm sorry that I can't be here to hold you; to let you know that everything is going to be okay, because I love you." He kissed her lips. "I've told you before that you're the strongest person I know. You can do this. You can beat this. Te amo mi amada. Mantente fuerte para nosotros mi amor." (I love you my darling. Stay strong for us, my love.) He stayed with her a long time, holding her hand, stroking her cheek, touching her in the only way safe from her knowledge - while she slept. He broke contact with her only when his phone vibrated on his hip.

"Yo." He stepped across the room and spoke softly.

"Ranger, Ella's here. Do you want me to bring in the food?"

"Thanks, Bobby. Call Lester, have him pick it up on his way in. I'll leave when he comes back."

"Roger."

Ranger closed his phone and returned to relish a few more stolen moments with the woman who owned his heart but didn't remember. Shortly after, Lester reappeared with a tray of covered dishes. Ranger gave her one last kiss and headed back into his self-imposed exile.

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

Stephanie slowly woke this time with a nagging feeling of utter sadness. She felt as if she had lost something important, but couldn't remember what it was. She lay on her side slowly processing what had happened with Lester earlier. She was angry with him, for some reason, but couldn't remember why that was either.

"You hungry, Beautiful? I have some of your favorites here." Lester cheerfully lifted the lid off the bowl and the smell of chicken soup wafted toward her nose.

"That smells wonderful. Just like Ella's." She struggled to a semi-sitting position. "Do you think I'll be able to see Carlos soon?" She touched the bandages on her head. "I don't want him to be scared of me."

Lester once again lifted the head of her bed and helped Stephanie get situated with some pillows tucked behind her. He totally ignored her last statement. "You know, if you start eating, I have it on good authority from that gorgeous nurse of yours that some of this survival paraphernalia will come off."

"Are you flirting with my nurses?"

"Just one. Megan. She's damn hot. That woman has legs that go on forever!" He gave her a playful grin. "I was thinking of developing some symptoms of a terrible disease just so she could come in and take my temperature."

Stephanie slowly shook her head at his plan and carefully lifted a spoonful of soup to her mouth. It felt wonderful on her sore throat. But after eating two or three bites, she put the spoon down and sighed. "I can't eat anymore, Lester. It is good soup, but I just feel full."

"Come on, Sweetie, just a little more." He picked up the spoon and fed her another bite. "See you can do it. Besides…," he lifted another lid, "there's dessert! This little piece of heaven didn't pass the inspection of Nurse Sexy out there. Technically it's contraband, but I know how much you love dessert, so I slipped it back on the tray after she left. If you finish the soup and eat one bite of this homemade bread, I'll let you eat a bit of this!" Not being above blackmail, Lester lifted the plate to wave the beautiful slice of cheesecake in front of Stephanie's nose.

Stephanie got a whiff and immediately her face took on a distant gaze. "Andrew." She mumbled.

Lester put the cake back on the tray. "What did you say, Honey?"

"Andrew." She repeated more clearly. "I made a cheesecake for him. It was his house." She became quite animated. "Oh, Lester, I remember the house. The picture of the little girl. Andrew…he's special to me. I was there. His daughter..." Stephanie felt a sense of liberation as the images running through her head were spotty, but seemed to have such a positive energy to them. "We…kissed." She touched her fingers to her lips and blushed. "I remember being with Andrew. He said my name…Mari...Maria." She broke her concentration and gave Lester a look of shear relief. "My name is Maria. I made a chocolate cheesecake and took it to Andrew at his house…he...he cares about me." Stephanie returned to the rapid recall of images flooding her mind. "I've been to his house before. I brought lunch. We ate in the kitchen. It was like a picnic. We danced at a club. The music was loud. Lester it's like someone turned on the lights. I can see so many details now." Her voice was gaining strength as her enthusiasm for the sudden breakthrough continued. "I went to the outdoor symphony with him. Lester, what's his last name? I know him."

"Sullivan." He answered. "And, Honey, Andrew is not who you think he is."

Stephanie was stopped short in her musings. "What do you mean?" She said defensively.

"I mean that, _yes_ you know Andrew Sullivan, but not because he's special to you."

"What do you mean? I kissed him. He kissed me. A lot." She grinned with slight embarrassment.

Lester put the tray of food on the bedside table. He wiped his hand with a napkin in order to delay the inevitable. He gathered his thoughts and turned back to Stephanie. "Honey, it's time to fill in some of those holes."

Stephanie sat eerily still as she listened to Lester recount, what he claimed to be, her _real_ life. He began with her identity as Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter, and continued with the basic facts of how she became involved at RangeMan. He left out any direct mention of Ranger, by name. Lester revealed that he was not her brother, but a co-worker and good friend, and that Ella was the housekeeper at the company's headquarters. He explained that the identity she remembered as Maria Granger was one she herself designed for the Giordano mission. He described the specifics about the fabricated life of Maria, including her imaginary son, deceased husband, and helpful mother-in-law. Finally he went into great detail about her time with Andrew Sullivan and how the entire relationship was devised to lure Giordano out of hiding. He stopped short of giving her details about the events leading up to her injury.

When he finished, Stephanie looked tired and bewildered. "I don't remember any of these things you're telling me Lester. I don't know these people you are talking about." She defiantly clung to the memory that gave her the best chance for sanctuary against his words. "I remember Andrew. I want to see Andrew. Will you get him for me?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Steph."

Stephanie shot him a bitter look at the use of the name that she could make no connection to.

"Why not. He's real isn't he?"

"Yes, he is real, but..."

"Then I want to see him. I want to hear the words from him. Are you afraid he'll tell me that you're lying to me?"

"No, Steph, I wouldn't lie to you. I…."

She cut him off with a spiteful retort. "I don't trust you right now. Hell, I can't even trust my own thoughts if I am to believe you. I WANT TO SEE ANDREW!"

Her forceful demand worried Lester. "Okay, Beautiful, calm down. It's not good for you to get upset like this." He conceded. "I'll do what I can. I'll see if he'll come."

Just then Megan came through the door. "It's time for your medication. How are you feeling?" She handed Stephanie two pills and then a glass of water.

Stephanie never answered. She just maintained a menacing scowl at Lester in a fruitless attempt to intimidate him. She swallowed the medication.

"You're blood pressure is up again." She gave Lester an exasperated glare when she noticed the cheesecake on the tray. "Curtis has a standing order for something to calm you down when this happens." She injected a syringe directly into her IV line. "Why don't you try to relax a little bit? I'm sure Mr. Santos wouldn't want to be responsible for having you backslide on us now." She looked pointedly at Lester making sure he got her point. "Would he?" She turned to Stephanie and gave her a warm, caring expression. "I see you ate some soup. That's good. Is there anything else you need right now?"

"No, thank you." She curtly answered.

"Okay, just push the call button if you change your mind." Megan picked up the cheesecake and left the room.

Stephanie turned her back to Lester and relaxed into her pillow. It wasn't long before the combination of drugs and lack of conversation drew her back into a deep sleep. A few minutes later, Bobby came into the room.

"Ranger wants to see you."

"I'll just bet he does." Lester said sarcastically.

"It's okay, man. You did good."

"Right." Lester left the room and headed down the hall.

Ranger was sitting in a chair, totally focused on one of the monitors, when Lester entered the room.

"We need to call Sullivan." There was no emotion in Ranger's voice whatsoever. It was just stated as pure fact.

"You know he could say anything to her. He could get angry. Upset her. Make all of this worse." Lester warned.

Ranger looked up from the monitor. "You said he cared about her."

"Yeah, I think he does."

"Then he won't want to hurt her."

"Maybe. I don't want to hurt her either, but you see what a bang up job I'm doing in there." Lester's frustration was evident in his self-deprecating response.

"Get him in here. I want to see him first, though. Bring him directly to me."

"Do you want me to tell him…"

Ranger stopped him mid-sentence. "Just tell him she wants to see him. Nothing else."

Lester pulled out his phone and dialed.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

When Andrew Sullivan was led into the temporary monitoring room, he wasn't expecting to see Ranger. There was an immediate flash of anger that welled up, and he had to stop himself from acting on it.

"What the hell's going on here?" He spit out. "I was told Maria wanted to see me."

"Sit down, Mr. Sullivan." Ranger's tone was hard and bitter.

"Why?"

"We need to talk." Ranger pulled up a chair and aggressively offered it to Andrew. "My name is Carlos Manoso. I run RangeMan."

Andrew stood firm. "I came to see Maria." He looked around the room for the first time, noticing the monitors and the images they projected. His voice softened as he nodded toward one of the screens. "Is that her?"

"What's left of her, after your little stunt." Ranger was finding it hard to maintain his professional distance from the emotions that surrounded him. His words were biting, cold and accusing.

Andrew became contrite. "I'm…sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. I never wanted her to be hurt."

"Save it." He snapped. "We need you to help her now."

Andrew turned red in anger. "Listen, you and your men dragged me into your little game of espionage. You dropped Maria into my life, who turned it upside down with her highly elaborate web of lies, effectively annihilating my attempts to deal with my own grief privately; and now you want my help! You must be insane."

Ranger's anger retreated slightly. "It was unfortunate, but necessary, that you had to be part of this." He continued. "Stephanie was…distressed…by the lies she was submitting you to."

"Stephanie? Is that her real name?"

"Yes. Maria was her cover identity." Ranger offered the chair once again, and, this time, Andrew took it and sat down. Ranger pulled up another and straddled it backwards, facing Sullivan. "Mr. Sullivan, Stephanie is _very_ important to me. I will do anything to help and protect her." Ranger's eyes intensely bore directly into Andrew's, flawlessly conveying the sincerity and deeper meaning of his statement. "I know that Santos has given you most of the facts about how you ended up as part of this mission, and I also know that he has been giving you regular updates about her recovery. What you don't know is that when Stephanie finally came out of her coma, we discovered that her memory has been affected by the injury."

"What?" He said with astonishment. "Do you mean that she has amnesia and doesn't remember anything?"

"Not exactly." Ranger shifted uncomfortably. "She only has memory of her identity as Maria Granger. She has no memory of her real life, or of her part in the mission."

"So she remembers me, but not the fact that she was conning me? Is this permanent? Will she recover?"

"Her doctor believes it should only be temporary, and, that if her recovery goes well and the swelling recedes, she should slowly recapture her real memories."

"That's good, isn't it? She just needs time to recover? That's all?"

"When she started asking for her son, she became extremely agitated when she couldn't see him. Obviously since he doesn't exist, we could not produce him. Her response endangered her recovery. Since she believes that Lester is her brother and he's familiar to her, we have limited her contact to no one but her medical staff and him. He has been carefully trying to explain to her that her belief in her identity as Maria Granger, and all that goes with it, is false."

"Why am I here then? Why do you need me?"

"Stephanie believes that you two have a real relationship. She remembers your more...intimate moments together. Lester has told her the truth, but she doesn't believe him, and she wants to see you. She's hoping that you will tell her something different. She's desperate to hear that her memories are real."

"You want me to go in there and support what Lester has told her. Break her heart? Why should I do that? Why should I put myself through the anguish of seeing her again under those circumstances?"

"Because, I'm asking you to. Because, you gave her that bracelet. Because, you cared about her at one time. Because, it's the right thing to do. Take your pick." Ranger stood up from the chair and walked over to observe the monitor; his back to Andrew. Groveling was a foreign experience for him, and it was taking its toll on his patience. "I know I have no right to expect you to help. But I am asking you to do this for Stephanie. She's in a tremendous amount of pain, and her constant state of confusion is only making it worse."

Andrew could hear the underlying grief and frustration in Ranger's words. He understood men like Ranger. Men who are used to being in charge and getting their way, finding themselves in a situation where they are powerless to act; powerless to change what has happened. It strips them of their self-worth and eats away at their soul. He felt the same way when he lost Marissa and Madison. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Does she know?"

"She did until last Friday night."

Andrew closed his eyes and sighed. There was pain in the knowledge that she had loved another man, while she was with him. "I understand. She's a wonderful woman. She may have been playing me, but she did help me. I think she was sincere about her concerns for my grief. She helped me process some of the guilt I was feeling about my wife and daughter's death."

"Stephanie is a very compassionate woman. We had several discussions concerning how she felt about your situation. It bothered her, a great deal, that you were going to be hurt in the end."

"The irony is, that she was hurt even more so..., and you and I both are responsible for that to a certain degree." Andrew stood. "I will help you, Mr. Manoso. I'll talk to her. I can't promise that it will do any good, but I'll try, for Stephanie."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Andrew entered the room and paused at the door. He looked at the beautiful face of the woman who, in his head, he knew he should resent but, in his heart, he knew he cherished. He never took his eyes from her face, and when he approached her bed, she smiled so warmly and with such expectation that he nearly shed tears as his body was inundated with conflicting emotions.

"Andrew, you came!" She took in his agonized appearance. "What's wrong?" Stephanie self-consciously touched the bandages on her head.

He caressed her face with is hands. "Your eyes…they're blue!"

"Yes, evidently they are." She said sourly.

Andrew leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." She said quietly. Stephanie desperately captured his hand, effectively keeping him from moving away.

He gave her the look of a parent catching a child in an obvious lie. "You don't look okay. You had brain surgery for God's sake. Tell me the truth."

"All right. I feel terrible. I have a constant headache, I'm dizzy and tired all the time, I'm stuck in this bed wearing this most unflattering gown, I have more tubes and machines hooked up to me than I should think would be humanly possible, and my world is being turned upside down. My mind isn't…right. Lester tells me everything I remember is a lie." She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Tell me it's not true, Andrew." Her eyes filled with unshed tears. "Tell me my son is real. Tell me…you and I are real." Stephanie tightened her grip on his hand like it was the last lifeline on a sinking ship.

"Lester told you the truth." He pulled away from their connection and walked to the window. "You know, your distraction worked perfectly. When I first met you, all I could see was Marissa. Spending time with you made me believe I had her back again. I wanted so desperately to have a second chance with her. It's really not hard to believe how easily Victor was affected by you as well." He glanced at her briefly. "Do you remember our night at the symphony?"

Stephanie nodded. "I think I remember most of it. Lester told me some."

"It wasn't until I returned you home that evening that I started to really see you as Maria. When you asked me that night about Marissa's death, and I told you about her plan to leave me, I realized just how pathetic I had been. That's when I took off my wedding ring." Andrew touched his ring finger absentmindedly.

"Oh god, Andrew. I don't understand how I could have done those terrible things to you. I don't understand why. I know what Lester told me, but I don't remember that. I remember what I had with you…what you had with me."

"I never had you, Sweetheart. Everything between us was subterfuge. Your deceptions and my self-guided delusions were all there ever was between us."

"I don't believe that. I have…memories…of more."

"You have broken memories, Stephanie."

"Don't call me that!" She replied sharply. "I don't know _me_ as Stephanie. I know _me_ as Maria. I know me with you. I may not recall all of it, but I remember how we touched. I remember how you looked at me. I remember the kisses and how they made me feel."

"But when you're well, and you remember your intentions behind our time together, you'll feel differently."

"I don't think my heart is forgetting anything. It remembers everything about our time together."

"You can't depend on what your heart tells you right now. It's trying to fool you." He returned to the bedside. "I was unfair to you. I used you, too. You have to believe that I truly cared about you, but it became twisted. That night, I realized that you were not Marissa, and that I wanted _you_ because of who you were. But I had already given you the bracelet. I had set a whole series of events into motion that damn near killed you. You may have lied to me, but I put you in danger." He took her chin in his hand, lifting it to look her straight in the eye. "We're not good for each other."

"You're leaving me, aren't you?" Stephanie dropped her head away from his gaze and focused on her hands, nervously rolling the bed sheet as the tears she had been holding back began to flow.

"Sweetheart, there's a man out there that loves you very much. And even though you are confused right now, you _will _heal, and you _will_ remember him and how much you mean to each other. I have suffered two great losses already. I can't bear another. I have to leave, because if I stay...I'll fall hopelessly in love with you."

Andrew kissed her on the cheek, once again, and walked out of the room.

Stephanie's tears ran unrestrained. The fear of him leaving was so devastating that she barely comprehended his words. Now the room was quiet. He was gone. She felt lost and alone, confused and empty. And she was tired; so very tired.

When Lester returned to the room, he found her rolled up in a fetal position sobbing uncontrollably. He climbed into the bed, pulled her into his arms and tenderly stroked her face.

Stephanie was only slightly soothed by his actions. "He left me, Lester. He doesn't want me. I don't understand. I ruined everything. I lied to him and hurt him, and he's gone. Carlos is gone. Ric is gone. My brother is gone. I'm alone now. I have no real memories of anyone loving me. I'm a terrible person. I must be a terrible person. I'm so pathetic I had to invent imaginary people to love me." She closed her eyes. "Lester, I'm so tired of it all."

Down the hall, Bobby barely moved in time to avoid being hit as Ranger's chair hurled passed him and crashed violently into the wall.

...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...xxx...


	25. Chapter 25

All original characters of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich. The new ones are mine.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 25

"Carlos we need to talk."

Ranger knew from his own personal use of them, that those words never meant anything good. "What is it Curtis?"

"I received the results from the most recent tests this morning. Stephanie's condition has been improving nicely. The swelling that has been such a concern has gone down a great deal. Her wound and her surgery sight are healing as expected and I've ordered most of her IV meds to be discontinued and the lines removed. We're going to finish her drug therapy orally. I want her to get out of bed and start moving around. It's time for her to get ready to be released."

Ranger hesitated. "That all sounds like great news. So why do you still look so concerned?"

"The fact that the swelling is down and her memory issues have not begun to be resolved, concerns me. We should have seen some improvement by now."

"What are you saying?"

"I think that we need to look at other possibilities for the continued failure of her memory."

"You think there is another injury you're unaware of?" Ranger was worried that things were going from bad to worse.

"No…I think we need to consider that some psychological issues may be causing this. I'm sure that the damage caused by the accident played a large part in triggering her problems, but I'm beginning to think that there is more at play here than just the injuries."

"Psychological issues? Do you want to bring another specialist in from the hospital to see her?"

"I took the liberty of contacting a colleague of mine. His name is Jackson Winchester. We met at a conference several years ago. He's a psychiatrist. A damn good one at that." Curtis looked at Ranger for his reaction.

Ranger nodded for him to continue.

"Jack is Army. Most of his work is with soldiers who are having trouble dealing with their experiences during their tour of duty. He works out of Walter Reed in DC." Curtis pulled up a chair and sat across from Ranger. "I spoke with him briefly about Stephanie's injuries and continuing symptoms. He agreed with my assessment that some psychiatric intervention may be necessary and he agreed to recommend someone locally…until…I mentioned your name." He stared directly at Ranger.

Ranger's head shot up in response to Curtis' last words. "Explain."

"He said he knew of _Colonel _Carlos Manoso and then insisted that he come and deal with Stephanie's case personally."

Ranger sat back and thought for a moment. "Do you trust him?"

"Carlos, he's the best. If something is going on with Stephanie, Jack will figure it out and fix it. Yes, I trust him; I've known him for years. If you want, I can arrange for him to be here in a couple of days. I'll have my secretary arrange a flight for him."

"Not necessary. I'll send my jet." Ranger took out his cell phone and made a call. "Bobby, I need you to make a trip to DC..."

Curtis held up his hand to get Ranger's attention. Ranger acknowledged the gesture and looked up, stopping mid conversation. "Actually, Carlos, I caught up with him on leave…in San Francisco."

Ranger raised a single eyebrow at the new information, hesitated just a short moment and went back to the phone conversation. "Correction, Bobby, I need you to make a trip to San Francisco on the company jet. You're going to escort a specialist back here for Stephanie. Curtis will give you the specifics. Plan to meet with him when you come in later this afternoon. I want you on that plane today." He closed the phone and read the confusion on Curtis' face. "I want Bobby to bring him up to speed before he gets here. It will save time." Without missing a beat he called out. "Hector."

"Si."

"Hacer una copia de todas las grabaciones de la habitación de Steph. Tenerlo listo para Bobby a tomar con él cuando él se vaya." (Make a copy of all the recordings from Steph's room. Have it ready for Bobby to take with him when he leaves.)

"No hay problema, jefe." (No problem Boss.) Hector, who had been added to the 'Bomber watch' rotation, was currently double checking the equipment for damage after Ranger's outburst the day before.

Curtis had never seen such efficiency in his life. His crude understanding of Spanish wasn't sufficient to completely understand what the order to Hector was, nonetheless, he was impressed by the rapid decision making and complete unquestionable loyalty of Ranger's men. It was no surprise to him that Carlos Manoso was successful not only in the private sector but, obviously, as Jack's earlier reaction had implied, in the military world as well.

"Well, it seems as if you've made up your mind." Curtis stood from his chair. "I'll call Jack and pass on all the details to Bobby." He turned to leave.

"Curtis." Ranger's voice was softer. It had lost its CEO tenor. "Thank you. I need her well."

"I understand." He left the room.

Ranger flipped his cell phone open once again. "Tank, get me everything you can find on a Dr. Jackson Winchester at Walter Reed; personal and professional. Pull some strings if you have to."

Ranger closed the phone and stared at the monitor. The last few days had been Hell. Lester had barely left her side. After the traumatic encounter with Sullivan, Stephanie had all but shut down. She ate, took her medications, and answered questions from her nurses and doctors, but not once, since that last breakdown, had she spoken about what Andrew said. Lester had tried to initiate conversations, but she refused to participate on any level deeper than an occasional nod or pointed look. Ranger knew she had a stubborn streak, but this was beyond that. The dull emptiness of her eyes betrayed the despondent feelings he knew were consuming her from the inside. She wrote occasionally in the notebook that Lester had given her. Sometimes, in a fit of frustration, she would rip a page out, ball it up and throw it across the room. She slept frequently. Sometimes it was peaceful, but mostly it was restless and broken. He could only hope that her troubling dreams were attempting to push through the truth; that, somehow, parts of her real life were struggling to reveal themselves and that her endurance of the torment they caused would eventually enhance the healing process.

"Ranger."

Ranger was drawn out of his thoughts by the address. He gave Hector his attention with a slight lifting of his head.

Hector gently touched Stephanie's image on the monitor. "Sus heridas se curan, pero ella se ha roto aún. Ella te necesita, como lo hizo la noche del robo. Su mente está bloqueando su memoria, pero dentro de su corazón, nuestro ángel te está esperando para salvarla. Es necesario hacerle ver más allá de la mentira y las barreras." (Her wounds heal, but she is still broken. She needs you, like she did the night of the robbery. Her mind is blocking her memory, but inside her heart, our angel is waiting for you to save her. You need to make her see past the lies and barriers.)

"Yo no "sabe cómo hacerlo, Héctor. Ella es tan frágil. Ella tiene que ser más fuerte antes de complicarse la vidaaún más." (I don't' know how to do that, Hector. She is so fragile. She needs to be stronger before I complicate her life even more.)

"El amor no es una complicación. Cura. He visto la forma en que te mira. Usted es un bálsamo para su alma cuando está en problemas." (Love is not a complication. It heals. I have seen the way she looks at you. You are a balm to her soul when she is troubled.)

"Ella no me conoce en este momento. Yo sólo confunden aún más. No puedo hacerle daño. He hecho mucho de esoya." (She doesn't know me right now. I would only confuse her more. I can't hurt her. I've done too much of that already.)

"He visto cómo su amor por ella la ha hecho más fuerte, no débil. Ella era feliz contigo, más feliz que jamás haya visto antes." (I believe your love for her has made her stronger, not weaker. She is happy with you; happier than I have ever seen her before.)

"No voy a esperar mucho tiempo más, Héctor. Estoy impaciente por que ella vuelva. Vamos a ver lo que el buen médico tiene que decir." (I won't wait too much longer, Hector. I'm impatient for her to return too. Let's see what the good doctor has to say.)

Hector nodded as he pulled the flash drive from the computer and handed it to Ranger. "Por Roberto." (For Bobby.) He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of folded notebook paper. "Para usted." (For you.)

Ranger was intrigued, but said nothing and took the paper.

Hector patted Ranger on the shoulder. "Su mente le haya perdido temporalmente, pero que se esconden en su corazón. Ella tiene un corazón fuerte. Un buen corazón." (Her mind may have misplaced you temporarily, but you are hiding in her heart. She has a strong heart. A good heart.)

Sé que Héctor. Era el corazón de Stephanie que me enamoré con la primera. (I know that Hector. It was her heart that I fell in love with first.)

"Nuestra niña está dormida ahora. Yo voy a dar un salto de Lester. Usted debe comer ahora y descansar un poco también. Un muy buen amigo me recordó que tenemos que estar aquí cuando ella se despierta." (Our girl is asleep now. I'm going to give Lester a break. You should eat now and get some rest too. A very good friend reminded me that we need to be here for her when she wakes up.) He smiled at Ranger and walked out of the room.

He watched as moments later, Hector entered Stephanie's room and after a brief conversation and a complicated handshake, Lester stepped out. Hector took Stephanie's hand and Ranger heard him recite a familiar prayer then protectively take the seat next to her bed.

Ranger looked down at the paper in his hand. He slowly unfolded it, laid it on the portable table next to him and carefully smoothed out the wrinkles. He handled the note as if it contained the long lost clues to a hidden treasure.

_Ric Granger – not real?_

_Carlos – not real?_

_Andrew – man out there loves you._

_Not Andrew_

_Lester? _

_My house – big kitchen, big closets, bathtub, pictures_

_My car – Lexus, blue, car seat _

_Bracelet, gift from Andrew – lie. Why?_

_Birthday!_

_Birthday…sunblock, warm beach. Palm trees? Where? Feel love there. Why? Who?_

_Blue dress_

_Who loves me? Where is he_?

The thoughts were random, but they were the first evidence that maybe they were progressing. Why was she holding back? Why would she not share this with Lester? Stephanie was remembering, Miami.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

When Stephanie opened her eyes, the late afternoon sun was casting shadows in the room. As it did every time she awoke, her mind started dancing with new and confusing memories and thoughts. The endless barrage of puzzling images tired her so quickly. She had started writing things down like Lester had suggested. Sometimes it led to more frustrating questions that were unanswerable. She was mad at Lester. She had refused to speak to him since Andrew left. She wanted to talk to him. She couldn't even think of a good reason as to why she was shutting him out, except that she was pretty sure she was afraid of finding out more of her precious few memories were lies. She had been counting on Andrew being the key to her regaining her past. Her memories of him were so clear, and the emotions she felt toward him were so strong. But it was a lie. He told her that everything was a lie, just like Lester had explained.

She slowly rolled over and spotted him in the same chair he was always in when she woke up. He never failed to be there for her. He may not be her brother, but he was her constant in a world that was spinning out of control.

"Lester."

"Hey, sleepy head. It's nice to see those blue eyes again." His words were warm and genuine.

"How can you do that?"

"How can I do what?"

"Be so damn nice to me. Stay here day after day. I've been awful to you." Tears started forming in her eyes, but she didn't want to cry. She was tired of crying. "I don't deserve you. You should have run out on me days ago." The tears fell anyway. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey, hey, Beautiful. None of that now." Lester stood, climbed up into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her waist. This was the best way he found to really get her to listen. "Stephanie, you have been through so much and I'm the person who keeps ripping your world apart. You have nothing to apologize to me for. I know how scary this all must be for you."

"Lester?"

"Hmmm?"

"When Andrew was here, he said something I didn't understand."

"What was that Steph?" Lester was trying to use her real name more frequently. Before the accident, he rarely called her by her given name. Now it seemed important that she hear it often.

"Right before he left, he said that there was a man out there that loved me very much and I would eventually remember that I loved him too."

Lester had been expecting this. He wondered how long it would take before she questioned that statement by Sullivan. "He told you the truth, Sweetie."

"Lester." Stephanie was hesitant to ask. She was afraid of the answer. She wouldn't look at him and kept her eyes trained on the blanket covering her legs. "Is it you? Have I forgotten that I'm in love with you?"

"Oh, Beautiful." He kissed the top of her head. "As much as I wish it was me you were in love with. It's not. I love you, but as a very good friend. You are extremely important to me and that's why I'm here for you."

"Then who is it? Who is it that loves me? And if we love each other so much why is he not here instead of you? Why can't I remember him…why…ohhh, Lester, that's it…isn't it? I've hurt him. He knows that I can't remember him and he's left." Stephanie put her head in her hands and shook her head. "I don't blame him…"

"Stepha…"

"How could he still care about a woman who so easily forgets him?" She dabbed her running nose with a corner of the blanket. "I wish I could apologize. God, does this ever…."

"Sweetie…"

"It may not mean much to him, but I'm sorry that I've hurt someone else." Stephanie was ranting aimlessly now. She wouldn't let Lester have a word in edgewise.

Lester finally covered her mouth with his hands. "Stop!" He was forceful but loving. "Stephanie, you have got to stop this." He shook his head with a chuckle. "Geez woman, you would take sole responsibility for the war in Iraq if I'd let you." He removed his hand. "You are not to blame for any of this. You were doing your job. You were injured. You didn't _choose_ to forget anyone."

"Why can't I remember him?"

"I don't know, Beautiful, but it's not because you don't love him and it's not because he doesn't love you. You two are crazy about each other; have been for a long time."

"Is he gone?" She weakly asked, already resigned to the fact that the answer would be yes.

"No, Steph. He's never left you. He's been here the whole time."

Stephanie lifted her head sharply at Lester's words. "Here? At the hospital?" She sniffed.

Lester's grin was huge. He felt like he was just about to issue a million dollar check to a lucky lottery winner. "Yeah. When you were in your coma after surgery, he sat in that very chair for days. Barely ate, hardly slept. Kept watch over you night and day. Hell, he sat here so long I thought about bringing in my watering can to take care of the roots he was sprouting."

"Why did he leave? Where is he? Oh, god…WHO is he?"

"I told you, he didn't leave. He's in a room down the hall." Lester didn't want to tell her about the cameras and microphones. He wanted that to be Ranger's job. The Stephanie they all knew and loved would be pissed as hell to find out that she was being monitored 24/7.

"In a room? Is he hurt? Is he sick?" She had a tinge of panic in her voice.

"No, he…well…he sort of…rented it. So he could stay close by."

"He RENTED a hospital room?"

"Listen, that's beside the point, Beautiful. He left because you went ballistic when you found out about not having a son and the doctor was afraid that your recovery would be compromised by the additional stress of subjecting you to people you didn't remember. Since you recognized and trusted me, I'm the one who has been staying with you to help you through the hard parts."

"You drew the short straw!"

"No, I'm the lucky one. I've been with you every day. I get to talk to you, watch you smile when you eat dessert, duck when you throw things at me." He teased. "Ranger's been a basket case. He's been…"

"Ranger?"

"Yeah, Sweetie. Ranger."

"That's his name? Ranger?"

"Well that's what we call him. His real name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso. You call him Carlos sometimes. Ranger is his street name. It comes from his Army days."

Stephanie grabbed her head, pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in the blanket. She lifted her chin just high enough to be heard. "Let me get this straight. I'm in love with a man who has the _street_ name - Ranger. His real name is Ricardo, like my make believe dead military husband Ric, and Carlos, like my imaginary son. He's _living_ down the hall in a hospital room waiting for me to get my memory back."

"Yeah."

"What does he look…the pictures! I have pictures at my house. She put her hand to her bare neck. My necklace…where is it?"

Lester reached across Stephanie to the bedside table and opened a small top drawer. He lifted out the heart locket. "Is this what you're looking for?"

Stephanie eagerly grabbed it and tried fruitlessly to open the locket. Her weak and shaky fingers would not cooperate. Lester saw her struggle and took the necklace from her, opened it and handed it back to her impatient hands. "This is Carlos! This is my son!"

"Stephanie, this is a picture we used to convince Andrew that you had a son. It's actually a picture of Ranger as a little boy. This was a prop in your cover."

She rubbed her finger over the picture of the little boy. "What about the picture of me and Ric in my living room?" Is that a real picture of Ranger?"

"That is an actual picture of you and Ranger taken at the company Christmas party last year. But it's not his face in the picture. I photo-shopped in the face of his brother. We needed to protect Ranger's identity in case he needed to step into your cover. We couldn't very well have had your dead husband show up at a restaurant while you were on a date with Andrew, now could we?"

"I guess that makes sense. How long have I known Ranger? How did we meet?"

"You've known Ranger for nearly three years. He was your mentor when you became a bounty hunter for your cousin Vinnie."

"He works with you at RangeMan?"

"He owns RangeMan."

"He's your Boss?"

"He's more than my Boss. I've known Ranger since we served together in the Special Forces Unit nearly ten years ago. When he started his company, he asked several of us to join him. We're like brothers."

"Is my life always this confusing?"

"Pretty much, Beautiful. There's never a dull moment when you're around."

Stephanie's mind was going a mile a minute. She had so many questions she wanted to ask and didn't know where to begin. Somebody was in love with her and she had no memory of him. She thought that Andrew was…Andrew was the… "Lester, does Ra…Ranger know about Andrew? Does he know that I had feelings for him? That he was here?"

"Yes."

"How could he _not_ hate me!" She yelled.

"Honey, Ranger knows what you're going through. He's in constant contact with your doctors. He wants to help you get better. He's even flying a specialist in here from across the country to see you tomorrow. Does that sound like someone who hates you?"

"What kind of specialist?"

"He's a…a…psychiatrist." Les tried to mumble the word but Stephanie's eyes widened and he knew she heard.

"A psychiatrist? Does Curtis think I'm crazy?" Stephanie was raising her voice toward panic. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"No, nobody thinks you're crazy. This guy specializes in helping people deal with traumatic experiences and injuries."

"I don't remember any traumatic experiences and I don't remember getting this injury, so how could it be making me crazy?"

"It's not making you _crazy_. Damn, Steph, would you quit using that word. You. Are. Not. CRAZY! No one thinks you're crazy. He's coming to help sort out your memories, or lack thereof."

"Oh." Stephanie sat back relaxing a little and conceding to Lester's imploring.

"Steph?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to see Ranger?"

Stephanie stiffened. "You mean right now?"

"Yeah. Now, or later. It's up to you."

Stephanie thought about it. Was she ready to face a man who supposedly loved her? Could she deal with the feelings of guilt that would surely follow when he walked in and there was still no memory of their time together? "Lester, if it's okay, I think I'd like to wait. I'm not ready…I have a lot of questions…I…I don't think I can see him yet."

Lester saw the disappointment in her face. "It's okay Steph. He'll wait." He pulled her closer into his side and kissed the top of her head.

They sat for a minute or so in silence; each to their own thoughts.

"Lester?"

He pulled back and looked down at her. "What, Steph?"

"Do you think he can help me?"

"Who?"

"The new doctor."

Lester pulled her back in, laid his chin on her head, and stared out the window. "I don't know, Babe, but promise me you'll give him a chance."

Stephanie pushed away from his chest with her palms and smiled as she looked up at him. "You called me 'Babe'. You've never called me that before."

"So."

"So…" she beamed. "I like it."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Jackson Winchester walked into the makeshift control room. He was not a tall man, but he carried himself with a sense of importance. He looked to be a multi-racial mix of African American and maybe an island heritage; Philippine perhaps. Tank had contacted Ranger earlier that morning with the basics. Everything seemed to check out on Winchester. He was forty-eight years old, grew up in Southern Michigan. Attended undergraduate school at Northwestern and afterward, joined the army. He served a tour of duty in Europe, came back and attended medical school on the Army's bill. As he completed his training, he quickly moved up the ranks to become a Colonel and has been working at Walter Reed in DC for more than twelve years. His reputation for his work in the field of psychiatry was stellar. He had never been married, except maybe to the service. The most interesting point Tank noted, was the extremely high security clearance he possessed. This information made Ranger wary. Hal had brought with him the complete, two inch thick file on Winchester when he reported for security detail just an hour ago.

Ranger stood and extended his hand. "Colonel, I'm Carlos Manoso. Thank you for coming so quickly."

The doctor returned the greeting and they shook hands. "It was my pleasure Colonel Manoso. Your plane was quite comfortable. It beats the hell out of commercial or even military transport."

"You got that right. Please have a seat." Ranger held out his hand toward one of the more comfortable cushion chairs by the window. Ranger sat across from him in the other one. Bobby, who had followed Dr. Winchester into the room, pulled up one of the straight back chairs from in front of the monitors. "Colonel, I would prefer if you call me Ranger or Carlos, I don't emphasize my military status here in the private sector."

"I understand, Ranger. Please call me Jack."

"Jack, I'm going to be very blunt with you up front and ask you to explain to me why you volunteered to give up your scheduled leave to come here and help with Stephanie's case."

Jack produced a Cheshire cat grin. "Ranger, if you're half the legend I know you to be, then you probably have already done a very thorough background check on me."

Ranger maintained a blank face but gave a slight nod toward the thick file on the table.

"I'm impressed, but not surprised. You must have excellent contacts and resources. Most people couldn't get half that much information about me." He looked seriously at Ranger. "Is this a secure environment?"

"Yes. The room is clean and we won't be disturbed." Ranger looked over to Bobby who moved to stand guard at the door."

"You must know by the information in the file that I have top security clearance with most government agencies. My work at Walter Reed is limited to dealing with the cases of mostly men, but also some women, who have been involved in some very 'sensitive' missions. Missions, I know for a fact, that you are also involved in."

"Is the government worried about Stephanie possessing and sharing sensitive information through me? Did they send you here for damage control?" Ranger's suspicious mind was already preparing to argue this point.

"No! The government is not involved in my being here whatsoever." Jack relaxed back into the chair. "I'm here because I know what you have done for this country and for the men who serve it. In the last several years your name has shown up a number of times in the confidential reports I've read about some very top secret operations. I have access to these reports so that I can better treat my patients. The soldiers that you have had direct contact with during those ops have reported back with nothing but the highest praise for your bravery and determination in your service to them. In report after report, you and your team have been described as 'angels of mercy', 'saviors' and 'heroes'."

Ranger shrugged. "We were just doing our job. Nothing more."

"It was a great deal more Colonel Manoso." Jack sat up straight, trying to maintain his composure. "Five years ago you and your team were sent into the mountains of southern Afghanistan. Five soldiers of a Special Forces unit known as the Dessert Eagles had been separated from the rest of their battalion during a Taliban insurgent attack on Mari Ghar Mountain in Zabul province. The small band had been holding up in a cave for two days, fighting off enemy fire. They were low on supplies and were not going to be able to hold out much longer. Your orders were to rescue and return. By the time your team arrived on the scene, the fighting in the area had increased because the enemy, which had become highly organized, sent in reinforcements. They set up ambushes and soldiers were falling left and right." Jack was watching Ranger. He could see the memory of the mission flashing through his mind.

Ranger looked up at Bobby. He had been there too. "It was hotter than hell that day. We knew the soldiers were out of water. I didn't need intel to tell me they weren't going to last much longer." Bobby nodded as his own memories took him back to that arduous mission.

"I read the report, Carlos. When the fighting got worse, you were given a direct order to pack up your team, abandon the soldiers and get out. You were ordered to leave them for dead."

"The mountain had become a military commanders' nightmare. The higher ups wanted to cut their losses and evacuate the area." Ranger still remembered when the order came through. He was furious. It went against everything he believed in.

"You disobeyed orders. Didn't you? You went in anyway and saved those men."

"It needed to be done."

"You risked facing court-martial to save those men."

"Yes."

There was a long delay as Jack stared directly into Carlos' eyes. "Thank you."

At those words from Jack, Ranger's blank face gave way to a hint of bewilderment.

"One of the men you saved that day was Staff Sergeant Michael Overton; my nephew. I've never had kids of my own and Michael is like a son to me. If you hadn't disobeyed those orders to evacuate, he would be dead now." Jack sighed at the relief of sharing his emotional story. He stood up and walked over to the monitors. "So I will help your Stephanie, Carlos. I will do whatever it takes to bring her back to you, because you brought Michael back to us. That's why I came."

Ranger nodded in appreciation of the offer. There was an immediate change in the atmosphere of the room. There would be no more suspicion of untrustworthiness. There would only be total cooperation for the unified goal of getting Stephanie well.

"Ranger," Bobby interjected, "Jack has seen all the pertinent footage from Stephanie's room. I have also given him as much background as I could on her status before the accident. I gave him _personal _information as well as details about her work." Bobby's statement was meant to prepare Ranger. He had given information to Jack that he knew Ranger would consider quite personal and private.

"There have been a few developments since Bobby left yesterday. Late last night Stephanie asked Lester to explain Andrew's comment about the man who she's in love with. Lester told her about me. So she is now aware of me, but still has no memory of me. She doesn't want to see me yet either." That was a statement Ranger found very difficult to admit. "And also, one of my men gave me this." He handed Jack the flattened out notebook page. "This is something she wrote and apparently threw away."

Jack took the note and held it up to read.

Bobby walked over and peered at it over the doctor's shoulder and as he read it, a huge smile developed on his face. "Well I'll be damned."

"What do you see in this?" Jack questioned Bobby.

"She remembers Miami." He shook his head. "Oh, sorry Jack. Miami. She remembers being in Miami. Ranger took her to Miami for a couple of days just before the accident."

Jack nodded his understanding. "Was it part of the mission involving Sullivan and Giordano?"

Ranger answered. "No, it was strictly a personal trip…to celebrate her birthday. At least that's what is started out to be."

"I don't understand. What happened to change that?"

"While we were there, I took her to meet some of the people in my Miami offices. She got interested in a current case they were working on and insisted on helping out."

"Insisted?"

"Stephanie is very…strong-willed. She gets an idea and it's damn difficult to stop her." Ranger got a slight smile on his face at his own memory of their _argument_ in his office.

"Bobby told me that when she's not bringing in FTA's for her cousin's bail bonds company, she does research and sometimes distractions for your company." He was looking at Ranger now. "Is that what she did in Miami?"

"Yes. She spent some time in the afternoon doing research and that evening she led the distraction to lure a man, wanted for raping the sister of one of my employees, out of a bar."

"Tell me Ranger, did she use another alias during this distraction."

"Yes, she told the suspect that her name was…Tina."

"Was there anything unusual about the distraction? Did it go smoothly? Was there any trouble or was she injured?"

Bobby spoke up. "She had to stun the suspect, but he had her in a full body hold when it happened. She was stunned as well and he fell on her as they both passed out. I treated her on the scene. She also had a minor burn on her right hand. But none of that is _unusual _for Bomber."

"You mean she's been stunned before?"

Bobby chuckled. "Hell yes. I know personally of at least four times in the last year that she's been stunned while chasing skips. There's probably some I don't even know about. Why do you ask?"

"As the use of stun guns has increased in the police and military fields, I've been following research on the possible effects of being stunned**. **Until recently, most reports on the adverse effects of stun guns have, understandably, concentrated on cardiac complications. But a study released last March by the CMA Journal revealed mild traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome related to either the taser shot or the fall to the ground during the seizure and collapse. The study concluded that repeated taser shots may result in brain-specific complications." Jack stopped for a moment and pulled out a notebook and pen from the briefcase which he had carried in with him. He added a few things to an already impressive list of notes that contained information he gleaned from watching the taped recordings of Stephanie's room and his interview on the plane with Bobby.

"How can you be sure that's what she's dealing with?" Ranger asked.

"I can't. There really aren't any tests to show this kind of relationship. The research is too new. We just have to look at the symptoms and treat what we see. But it may help explain the difficulty she's having."

"How do you plan to proceed?"

"Of course, I want to interview her first, but from what I already know, not only does Stephanie have a history of being stunned multiple times, she had the added stress of maintaining three different identities in the course of one week. Her brain was already on overload from that alone. If you add in the strain of her natural tendency to carry guilt for the false relationship she created with Andrew, the pressure of a relatively new intimate relationship with you, Carlos and the injuries from the traumatic accident, I'm not surprised her mind has taken a bit of a vacation."

"Can you help her?" Ranger quietly asked.

"Yes, I think I can. That note on the table shows us she's already trying to help herself. She wants to get well. That's half the battle right there. You don't know how many soldiers I've treated who don't want to get well. They've given up. Recovery is very difficult for someone who has lost the will to live."

Ranger looked back at the monitor. "She's asleep now. Hector is with her. Would you like to see her as soon as she's awake?"

"That would be fine, but if you don't mind, I would like to ask you some questions first, Carlos and then I would like to get something to eat."

"What questions do you have for me?"

Jack briefly glanced at Bobby.

Bobby understood. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to let Curtis know you've arrived and I'll check on your hotel accommodations and car."

Both Ranger and Jack nodded and Bobby stepped out of the room. Jack pointed to the chairs and they both sat once again.

"Carlos, how are you doing with all this?" Jack waved his hand around the room in the direction of the monitors."

"I'm fine."

"There's a hole in that wall, the size of a basketball, which says otherwise."

"I'm fine."

Jack had worked with some of the toughest military men on the planet. He knew they were, literally, men of action and few words. He was pretty sure from watching the tapes that he could pinpoint exactly when that hole was created. It was okay. He didn't need Ranger to talk a great deal right now. He needed him to listen. "Okay, you're fine, but Stephanie isn't."

"No, she's not."

"Her visit from Andrew Sullivan was very…revealing." Jack noticed Ranger's grip on the arm of the chair tighten slightly. "She claimed to have memories of strong romantic feelings for him." Ranger's face remained blank but focused. "Bobby gave me quite a bit of information about Stephanie's past. Her relationship with her mother, and a man named Morelli?" He questioned as he quickly checked his notes. "Yes, a local cop. Seems she had a rather loosely defined relationship with him for a long time. Why do you think that is?"

Carlos didn't like to think about that. He certainly didn't want to discuss it. He decided to give Jack a condensed version of his own exhaustive thoughts on the subject. "Stephanie wanted to be a good daughter. She wanted her mother's approval. Her mother believed that a second marriage to Joe was what Stephanie needed to be happy and continually pushed her in that direction. Her mother's expectations were in direct conflict with Stephanie's desires. She fought that for a long time. So the relationship between Stephanie and Joe struggled along for a few years."

"Do you think it's possible that Stephanie has fallen into the same pattern of behavior with her ideas about Andrew?"

"I don't understand."

"Well from what Bobby told me about him, he is a nice, law-abiding man, wealthy, well educated, good job. A man every mother would want her daughter to marry. Maybe in Stephanie's current state of mind, she finds it easier taking, what might be considered, the safe path. The one that would cause the least resistance from the pressures of what other people might think."

Ranger thought about that for a moment. It actually made sense. Denial was always a common reaction for his Babe, when faced with something difficult. It helped her avoid making painful decisions. He questioned Jack. "What about her 'feelings' for him?"

"I think it's really more of the same thing, Carlos. Again, from what Bobby explained, she only knew this Andrew Sullivan for a week or so and they were never…intimate." He looked at Ranger for him to verify the fact. Ranger nodded in agreement. "It's possible, but doubtful that she could have developed such strong feelings for him in that time. She must have felt very deeply and intensely loved by someone, for her mind to want those feelings back so desperately. Maybe Stephanie's mind simply transferred her memories of those experiences to Andrew's face." Jack smiled. "I'd say someone made Stephanie Plum a very happy woman."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX...

Author Note: I know, I know. Stephanie and Ranger have been apart much too long. I promise to do something about that soon!


	26. Chapter 26

All characters of the original Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx...

Chapter 26

"Hey Stephanie! How would you like to take a shower?" Megan entered the room with a purposeful stride.

"A real shower? Not a sponge bath?" Stephanie was already half way out of the bed. "Can I wash my hair?"

"Yes. No. and Yes." She said, waving a square packet in the air.

"What's that?"

"Waterproof bandage. You've been doing so well with your short walks around the room and to and from the bathroom, that doc says we just need to cover your surgery sight and wound with this little jewel and you're good to go! You won't need one of these after today though, doc's just taking extra precautions."

Stephanie was beyond excited. "Lester, do you know what this means? I can finally wash off all of this tape residue and hospital antiseptic and wash my hair and…shave. Megan, can I shave too?"

"I don't see why not. I'll have a small chair in the shower for you to sit in just in case you can't stand the whole time. You're still weak you know? Don't try to over do it. Do you need anything before you start?"

"No, I have a whole bag of products here. I think I have everything I need."

"Okay. You can head in there anytime. Just let me know first. I think you're going to do all right by yourself, but someone should be in the bathroom with you just in case. It can be me or if you would prefer, Lester."

Stephanie looked over to Lester and gave him a very mischievous smile.

"Beautiful, there's nothing I would love more than to help you take a shower. But contrary to popular belief, I highly value my life. And Ranger would end it in a split second if he knew I was in there with you."

Stephanie was feeling playful. "Oh, come on Lester, what he doesn't know won't hurt him or you." She ran her fingers up his chest and playfully patted his cheek. "It could be fun. You could wash my hair for me."

"Ranger would know. He knows everything. I'll stay right here in the room. If you _really_ need me I'll be there." He crossed his arms and planted himself in a chair. He made brief eye contact with the small surveillance camera hoping that Ranger would get the message. Once again he was challenging him to step up.

"Okay," she sang, "your loss. I bet I'm really good in the shower!"

"You are a sick woman, you know that? Just a couple of days ago you thought I was your brother!"

"I guess it's a good thing that head shrinker doctor is coming to see me." She laughed and turned to Megan. "I'm ready now. Is that okay with you?"

"I'm all yours. Let's get you feeling nice and pretty again. Your new doctor is already here. He's going to come to see you in about an hour."

"Have you met him? What's he like?"

"No, I haven't met him yet. He checked in and then took off to get some lunch."

Stephanie picked out several products from the bag that Ella had sent up days ago, and gingerly waltzed into the bathroom with Megan.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Ranger's heart raced as he watched his Babe, walk into the bathroom. She was getting stronger; she was starting to remember some things and Jack seemed to have a strong belief that recovery was not only possible, he damn near guaranteed it. The oppressive, negative feelings that had been haunting him for days seemed to be lifting from his soul. He got Lester's message loud and clear. He opened his cell phone and made a call. Stephanie may not be ready to see him yet, but she was going to hear from him. It was time to start fighting back.

Tank walked into the room just as Ranger finished his calls. When he saw the smile on his face he was relieved.

"Good news?" He asked Ranger.

"Damn good news."

"Stock market did that well today? That's good. You're going to need to recoup some of the money you've spent in the last week or so." He teased. "I heard about this." He nodded toward the hole in the wall. "Care to explain?"

"No." He gave Tank an almost grin.

There was a moment of silence as they communicated with familiar facial expressions.

Tank changed the subject. "I take it the new doc was worth the money?"

"Yeah." The grin got slightly larger.

"Well since you're in such a good mood, you won't mind doing some more of this paperwork I brought for you to handle while you sit here on your ass." He dropped a large file on small table. It tilted to one side.

Ranger considered the pile with a bit of remorse. "Tank, you've carried more than your share of the load since Steph's been here. I want you to know that I appreciate it. Why don't you plan a trip? Take Lula and go somewhere for a week. Steph should be out of here soon and I'll have Lester convince her to come back to Haywood. She's going to need care for a while so I'll hire a nurse and I can be back in the office most of the time."

"Sounds good, Ranger, but no hurry. Let's get Steph out of here first, get her settled, then I'll think about taking you up on your offer." He looked over at the monitor and saw Lester sitting in a chair next to an empty bed. "Where is she?"

"Shower."

"She's taking a shower? Is that safe? I mean she could fall down in there. Why the hell is Lester just sitting there?" Tank was getting a little worked up.

"Relax. Megan, her nurse, is in there with her."

"Oh, I guess that's okay then." He said a little sheepishly.

Ranger smiled and gave Tank a friendly punch in the arm. "Doc thinks he can help her. She's already beginning to remember some little things…and before you say anything…yes! I called her parents. They've been updated on her condition. They even came down here yesterday and watched her from the monitor for a while."

"What about her Grandma?" Tank visibly shook at the memory of some of her antics. "Did she come too?"

"No. Frank and Helen decided to tell her that Stephanie was still away on an assignment. They didn't want to upset her before they had some good news to share about her condition."

Tank nodded in satisfaction at those words, pulled up a chair and positioned it next to Ranger's seat at the monitors. He sat for a few moments without saying anything. He just stared at the monitor. Ranger could sense Tank's uneasiness.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Tank rubbed his face with his hand as if he could wipe away the reality of what he needed to tell his friend. The action only served to make Ranger more suspicious.

"I may have been wrong."

"About?"

"When I told you that Bilotti would leave this alone; that we didn't figure into the mix anymore. I may have been wrong."

"Explain."

"Both Cal and Ram have been in contact with informants that claim somebody has been nosing around Trenton looking for information on Bomber."

"What kind of information?"

"Where she lives, hangs out. When the last time she was seen. That kind of shit."

"Could it be Morelli?"

"I don't think so, man. Morelli would call the control room and demand to speak with you or me. He wouldn't waste time asking around on the street. Besides, these informants would know Morelli. No…this guy is an unknown. Someone new to Trenton."

"Damn it."

"Yeah. The guys are pissed too."

"Have them tap into all their contacts. Tell Woody to talk to Connie. Maybe she can find out something with her family connections. We need to know if this guy has found out she's here. If it's Bilotti, I'll contact Alexander Ramos. He's always had a soft spot for Stephanie. Maybe he can convince them to back off."

"Will do." Tank's focus was drawn back to the monitor as the movement of Stephanie exiting the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy robe and a towel wrapped loosely around her head caught his attention. "She looks good." He smiled.

"She looks better than good." Ranger possessively articulated. But his mind was already preoccupied with the new information on yet another threat against his Babe. "I need to talk to Lester."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

Stephanie felt better than she had in days. She had even put on some real clothes that were waiting for her on the bed when she got out of the shower. A freshly washed, black, fitted v-neck t-shirt with a RangeMan logo embroidered above the left breast, a matching bra and panty set and a pair of comfortable black yoga pants. As she exited the bathroom for the second time, there was a large bouquet of the most beautiful tropical flowers sitting on the table. The cut crystal vase sparkled under the intense halogen lights that Megan had turned on in order to apply a fresh bandage to her wound.

"Lester, did you bring me these flowers? They're beautiful." She threw her arms around his waist and gave him a strong hug.

"No, Steph, they're from Ranger. There's a card."

"From Ranger?" She pulled the card from the arrangement and read it. She smiled slightly and sighed. "Did he arrange for these clothes too?" She motioned to her outfit.

Lester nodded. "He had Ella send them up this morning."

"It's like having a secret admirer." She said after reading the card again. "He sends me these nice gifts and his note is very sweet, but I have no idea who he is."

"You can change that. It's up to you. You know that don't you? He's only staying away now because it's what you want."

She plopped down on the fresh sheets that had been put on her bed as she dressed. "I know. It's just…I'm afraid…I don't…what if…Ahhh! I know I'm hurting him." She said in frustration.

"He doesn't want you to do anything you're not ready for. He's a very patient man, Sweetie."

"He must be. I can't possibly be worth all the trouble and pain I've caused him."

Just then the door opened and a man dressed in khakis and a navy and tan striped button down shirt walked into the room. He was average height, his caramel brown skin was smooth and flawless and his eyes were warm and friendly. As he advanced toward the bed he carried himself with a certain amount of self-importance that wasn't quite arrogant but it reflected a hint of pride that inspired respect. He had a notebook tucked under one arm.

"Ms. Plum?"

"Yes, I'm Stephanie Plum." It was the first time she had called herself by that name. It still sounded unfamiliar, but she had promised Lester yesterday that she would try it out.

"Hello." He extended his hand to her in greeting. "I'm Jack Winchester." He turned toward Lester. "You must be Mr. Santos."

Lester shook his hand as well. "Good to meet you doc."

"Ms. Plum…"

"Please call me Stephanie."

"Okay, Stephanie. Dr. Payne asked me to meet with you. Is it all right if we talk now?"

"Listen, Beautiful, I'll get out of your way." Lester felt Stephanie's nervous hesitation at the mention of his departure. He leaned over, kissed her on the cheek and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "I'll be close by. Don't worry, everything will be fine. Okay?"

Stephanie forced a nod of agreement. 'Yeah, I'll be fine."

Lester stepped out and headed for the room down the hall where he knew Ranger would be glued to the monitor. Jack took the seat next to the bed.

"Lester told me you were coming." She looked down nervously. "You're a shrink. Right?"

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, I'm a shrink. Does that bother you?"

"I was worried at first. I thought maybe Curtis…I mean…Dr. Payne, thought I was crazy; but Lester says you're here to help me with my memory."

"That's right. It might surprise you to learn, Stephanie, that most of my patients are not _crazy_. Mostly they're people like you who have suffered a great trauma or injury and they need my help to re-evaluate their reality."

"Re-evaluate their reality." She repeated. "Is that a fancy way of saying they need a ride back from La La Land?"

"Is that where you think you are? La La Land?"

"Maybe. Or some place like it. I don't have many real memories. My mind seems to be stuck in some kind of alternate universe. I've created a whole world filled with people who, I believe, I love and care for, but according to what I've been told, they don't really exist. I guess you could call that being in La La Land."

"But most of them_ do_ exist, Stephanie. Just not as you remember them."

"What do you mean?"

Jack opened his notebook and pulled a pen out of his pocket. "Well, according to my information, you thought Lester was your brother. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, Lester is real; he's just not your brother." Jack sat back in his chair. "Let me ask you something. Is the Lester you thought of as your brother, the same man, character wise, personality wise, and appearance wise, as the man you now know of as Lester your friend and coworker?"

Stephanie wrinkled her nose at the complicated question, but slowly nodded. "Yes. He's just as friendly, handsome, loving and funny as I thought my brother was. As my brother, I knew he would do anything for me. As my friend, he's proved it."

"The fact that you thought he was your brother is a minor detail when you recognize that the rest of what you knew and know about him is the same. That doesn't qualify to me as enough proof that you've taken a train to La La Land."

"But what about me thinking I have a son, and a dead husband?"

"I don't know yet, but didn't' you name them both after someone you are very close to? Someone you have an intimate relationship with.

"Ranger?"

Jack nodded.

"I don't have any memories of him." She admitted sadly.

"My guess is that when you begin to recall more about your real relationship with Ranger, you will discover amazing similarities between him and your 'son' and 'husband'. You probably know more about Ranger through your memories of them, than you realize."

Stephanie had never thought of that. She stared out the window as her mind drifted toward the possibilities. "When I'm awake at night and have time to think privately, I'm always comforted by my memories of Ric. They make me feel loved and safe, like I'm swaddled in a blanket of total devotion." A few tears started to form in her eyes and she quickly reached to halt them from falling. "But then Lester's words about the truth inch their way to the front of my brain and my little perfect world is shattered…and I feel lost again." Stephanie looked up with a hopeful appeal. "You think that the qualities I put in my imaginary Ric are based on the true qualities that I found and experienced with Ranger?"

"I think it is highly likely."

Stephanie wanted those words to be true. She wanted to feel the way she felt when she remembered Ric. She wanted somebody, _real_ to love her like that. "Why can't I remember him? If I have such a wonderful and completely ideal relationship with someone like that, why is it so lost in here?" She pointed to her head in frustration and the tears, that she had so ardently fought, began to fall.

Jack reached for the box of tissues and handed one to her, then tucked the entire box securely within her reach on the bed. When he spoke, his words were warm and reassuring. "Stephanie, you have been through a great deal recently. We have a lot to talk about. Those memories are there and we _will_find them, but I think we've done enough for today. I can see you're very tired." He picked up her chart from the side of the bed. "They've been giving you Zolpidem. Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"Sometimes." She sniffed. "I actually sleep a lot, but it isn't always restful. I have dreams. They're…unsettling."

"How are they unsettling?"

"I don't remember most of them. I just wake up and feel confused, sometimes frightened, but most of the time I feel like I'm missing something important and I can't remember what it is. It's very frustrating."

"I'll be back tomorrow morning and we'll work on that." He put the chart back on the hook. "How would you like to go home?"

Stephanie's head shot up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. You don't really need to be here anymore for your injuries and I can continue working with you anywhere. I'll talk to Curtis, but I'm pretty sure we can get you out of here by tomorrow afternoon."

"I would like that." She sniffed and grabbed another tissue.

"Get some rest. I'll be back in the morning." Jack re-pocketed his pen, closed his notebook and headed to the door.

"Okay." Stephanie slumped back into her bed and rolled over to rest the uninjured side of her head against the pillow. Between the physical exertion of her shower and the emotional stress of her time with Dr. Winchester, she was exhausted. With the last of her energy she leaned over to the beautiful vase of flowers, deeply inhaled their fragrance, picked up the card and clutched it to her heart. She smiled as she read it once again.

_Babe,_

_Remember that I am always here for you._

_You are my love, my breath and my light._

_Yours for eternity, Carlos_

As she drifted off to sleep she recalled images of being on an airplane. There was laughter and she was happy. She remembered a bedroom. She was kissing someone…dark hair…hands. The hands were touching her everywhere…there was an almost overwhelming sensation of passion and being loved.

A few hours passed and Stephanie was awakened by the smell of Italian food. She slowly opened her eyes and focused on the tray being rolled up to the side of the bed.

"Beautiful, if you hadn't gotten up in the next few minutes, I would have gladly devoured this food for you. Ella treats you better than almost anyone else. She sent you her famous lasagna, a tasty salad and homemade bread. I had to fight off everyone in the hallway getting this in here."

Stephanie sat up and looked at the huge portion of food in front of her. "There's more here than I can possibly eat. Help yourself."

"Actually, I have my own." He lifted another lid and an identical serving of the lasagna and another salad were underneath. Ella sent enough of this food for everyone to have some."

"You mean Ranger?"

He looked at her with a wary expression. "Yeah…and the other guys."

"The other guys?" She questioned. "You mean other guys, as in RangeMan guys?"

"Yes." He took a bite of lasagna.

"Lester, why would there be 'other guys' here?"

"I'm glad you asked that question, Beautiful, cause there are a few things you need to know and some decisions we need to make."

Stephanie set her fork down and looked at Lester with concern. "What is it?"

"Not a chance, Sweetie. You pick that fork back up and eat first. Then we'll talk. Megan's orders are for you to eat at least half of what's on that plate or she won't bring in the special dessert."

Stephanie smiled. "Special dessert?"

"Oh yeah, and I've seen it. Believe me, you want it. You want it bad!"

"Don't tease me like that Lester, what is it?"

"EAT!"

Stephanie picked up her fork and took a hearty bite of lasagna. In a matter of minutes she had eaten most of the salad, a piece of bread and half the lasagna on the plate. "Okay." She demanded. "I was a very good girl. What's for dessert?"

Lester stood up and walked out of the room. Seconds later, Megan followed him back in carrying a large plate covered with a silver dome. "Lester tells me you're ready for this." She carefully set the plate down and with all the flourish of a seasoned server at a five star restaurant, lifted the dome to reveal a delectable chocolate pie.

"Ohhh it's magnificent!" Stephanie ogled the dessert with eager eyes.

Megan quickly cut a piece and transferred it to one of the smaller plates on Stephanie's tray. She handed her a fork. "You have to try it." She exclaimed. "Your Carlos had three of these delivered late this afternoon. One is for you and the other two are for all of us at the nurse's station. The boxes had the name of a restaurant in Trenton and were labeled 'Chocolate Silk Paradise Pie'. It must have cost him a fortune to have it delivered here."

Stephanie took a bite and her eyes closed in ecstasy. "Oh my god!"

"I know! It's positively…

"Orgasmic!" Stephanie exclaimed over Megan's words.

"Yeah," she sighed. "That's kinda what we all thought too."

Lester was stunned. He knew most women loved chocolate, but he had never quite seen this response to it before. He lifted his fork and loaded up a bite for himself. "It's good." He factually stated.

"Just_ good_?" Megan questioned in disbelief.

"Okay, it's really good." He admitted, taking another bite. "But I wouldn't call it _orgasmic_."

"Just what _would_ be good enough for you to call orgasmic?" Megan put her hands on her hips in a demanding gesture.

Lester gave her one of his irresistible grins. "Well, Gorgeous, it certainly wouldn't have anything to do with food. Unless, of course, you were wearing it." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "I'm kinda partial to the real thing."

Megan didn't blush. She didn't even bat an eye at that suggestion. She simply looked Lester straight in the eye, stepped right into his personal space and quipped. "¿Está usted hablar? ¿O está usted dispuesto a poner su boca donde tu mente es? " (Are you all talk? Or are you willing to put your mouth where your mind is?)

She turned on her heel, smiled at Stephanie and spoke as she headed toward the door. "Enjoy your pie, Steph. I'll be back with your meds in thirty minutes."

She was gone and Lester was still standing with his jaw dropped half way to the floor. Stephanie was equally stunned. Although she had no idea what Megan had just said, she had never before seen Lester rendered speechless.

"Les?"

Lester shook his head as if to bring himself back to the present. "Yeah, Beautiful?"

"What just happened?" She giggled.

"I'll be damned." Lester said in amazement. "I think I just got myself a date with Nurse Sexy!" His slight smile grew wide at the prospect. "Remind me to ask Ranger where he got this pie."

When Lester finally returned to earth after his little encounter with Megan, he took his seat next to the bed. Stephanie was licking the last traces of pie from her fork and was looking quite satisfied.

"I'm all fed and full. Now what is it that we need to decide?"

"Doc says they're going to release you tomorrow."

"Stephanie grinned. "Yeah isn't it great?"

"It is great news. Now we have to talk about where you want to go when you leave. But before you make a decision, there is something you need to know."

"What?"

"Since you've been here, you have had round the clock security from RangeMan. There was concern that Giordano's family would try to retaliate for your part in his capture. Because of that threat, there are at least two guards posted right outside your door 24/7. The staff that has access to you has been limited to a handful of approved nurses and doctors, and there has almost always been one of us inside this room with you."

Stephanie looked up in shock. "How is that possible? I haven't seen anyone but you in here."

"That's because I'm the only one with you when you're awake."

"You mean when I'm asleep perfect strangers come in and watch me?" Her tone was annoyed and offended.

"No! They're not strangers. The only ones who come in here besides me are Hector, Bobby and…Ranger."

"Ranger comes in here and watches me sleep?"

"Yes. You have to be protected."

Stephanie really didn't know what to make of this information. On the one hand she felt a little violated. On the other it was kind of nice to know that she was being so well protected.

"And Bobby and Hector…I know them too?"

"They both work at RangeMan of course. Bobby is our company medic and he's treated you more times than I can count. He's the one that first treated you when you had your accident. Hector and you have a special relationship. He's very protective of you. He doesn't make friends easily, but you and he have always just kind of clicked."

Stephanie slowly nodded.

"When you leave here, your protection needs to continue."

"You said I need to make a decision about where to go. What are my options?"

Well, ideally, we would like for you to go back to Trenton and stay at RangeMan. It's the most secure facility we have."

"You mean I would stay in an office building?"

"RangeMan has apartments. You would stay in one of those."

"What about my house…or I mean…the house I was living in here in Philadelphia? Could I be safe there?"

"It's not as easy to protect. It doesn't have the same level of security, but if that's where you want to go, we can protect you there. But you have to know up front that at least two of us would move into the house with you. It would probably be me and Bobby, so he could keep an eye on your recovery, as well as provide protection. Hector would be around as well and there would be men posted outside doing surveillance."

"What about Ranger?"

"He could be there too if that's what you want."

"Did he stay with me there…before the accident?"

"Yes."

"Did we…did he…I mean…did we stay in the same room?" Stephanie nervously looked down at her suddenly busy fingers.

"Yes."

That confirmed the answer to another question that she had spent some time thinking about. Some of her most recent bits of memory recall had led her to believe that her relationship with Ranger was, most likely, quite physical.

"Can I think about this? When do you have to know my decision?"

"In the morning. You will probably be released tomorrow afternoon. We have to have enough time to make all the arrangements for either place you choose."

"Lester, where did I live before all of this happened."

"You have an apartment in Trenton."

"Did I live there alone?"

"Yes."

"Could I go back there if I wanted to?"

"Absolutely not! That place can't be protected, and besides, it only has one bedroom. You'd have to share your bed with me, Beautiful…and Bobby!"

"Got it." She responded. "The apartment in Trenton is definitely out."

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author Note: This was supposed to be the last chapter, but when all was said and done (literally), the chapter was over 10,000 words. So I split it into two chapters. The good news is that the final chapter (really this time) has been written and will be posted on Sunday morning. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know and have a wonderful weekend.


	27. Chapter 27

All characters of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Chapter 27

The next morning Stephanie had another meeting with Jack. They talked at length about her dreams and how, even though they were disturbing, they could possibly be helping to 'exercise' her memory by tapping into her personal unconsciousness, or sub-conscious mind. Jack revealed to her that he had been spending time with Ranger, talking and gathering more information on their relationship since it seemed to be the most frustrating hurdle she faced. They also discussed Stephanie's greatest fears about her confusing identity. She found it very easy to confide in Jack, because she felt no worry about offending him with her inability to remember. She had a clean slate with him. There was no history between them that was missing from her memory. Toward the end of their session she told him about the decision she needed to make concerning where to stay after her release.

"Where do you want to stay?" He asked, in what had quickly become his familiar probing voice.

"I don't remember the RangeMan building or my apartment in Trenton. But evidently that's where my real life is. I only remember the house here in Philadelphia, but that's where my false memories are based."

"It's also where you developed a very personal relationship with Ranger. It could be very helpful for you to go back and spend some time there."

"I thought about that." She hesitated. "He wants to see me."

"I know."

"Do you think I should? See him…I mean."

"What do you think?"

"Damn it, Jack, I don't know." She snapped. "That's why I asked you! I…I…." She hopped up out of her chair and stood facing the window. "Yes! I should see him. I want to see him…but I'm afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that I'll see him, and I still won't remember a damn thing. I'm afraid that it will hurt so badly to be disappointed that I won't be able to stand it, and I actually _will_ go crazy! I'm afraid…I'm afraid he'll walk away."

"Why would he walk away?"

"Why wouldn't he? My god, my life's a mess. I'm a mess. I'm dependent and needy. I'm injured and lost." She spun around and looked at him with tears welling. "I wouldn't know my own mother if she walked in that door." She pointed to her threatening tears. "I cry at the drop of a hat! Who wants to deal with that?"

"He hasn't left yet. Why do you think he stays?"

"I don't know. Maybe he feels guilty. Maybe he's a glutton for punishment. Maybe he has a thing for lost causes."

"Do you think you're a lost cause?"

"Sometimes." She dropped her head in despair.

"I have to say, Stephanie. I have never met anyone with as many fiercely loyal friends as you seem to have. I know you don't remember them, but they remember you. And they won't abandon you, or give up on you. Especially Ranger."

Jack stood and took her a tissue. She accepted it and dried her eyes.

"I'll tell you what." He continued. "I think one big change will be enough for you today. Tell me where you really want to go when you leave here. Don't worry about anyone else's opinion or concerns. Just tell me where you would feel most secure."

"The house."

"The house it is. Today you go to the house. You get settled in. Walk around every room. See what happens, what it sparks. Eat a good dinner and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, I'll come to the house to see you again. Then we'll talk about seeing Ranger. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes." She breathed a sigh of relief at having made a decision. "Thank you."

...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...XXX...

Just after lunch Stephanie prepared to leave the hospital for the first time in over a week. Before she left, Bobby came in to re-introduce himself to her. He gave her a big hug, and they talked briefly about how he planned to follow up on her care once they got to the house. Stephanie was immediately taken in by his strikingly intense brown eyes, muscular body, and his amazingly gentle hands. There was something so familiar about him.

"You helped me." It wasn't a question. It was a memory, or part of one.

"That's right, Steph." Bobby gave her a smile and took her hand in support.

She looked down at their joined hands. The action jolted her thoughts and caught her off guard. Her head snapped up to meet his eyes. "I burned my hand. You treated it. You wrapped it."

Bobby nodded. "You're my friend, Steph. I'll always take care of you."

"I know." She smiled at how good it felt. Stephanie was encouraged by the quick revelation she experienced when she met Bobby. She felt some of her anxiety, for a possible meeting with Ranger, lessen at the prospect of having the same response with him.

"Are you ready to go?" He rubbed one of his long gentle fingers along her chin.

She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and replied with all the determination she could muster. "Absolutely."

Lester picked up her bags, Bobby picked up her prescriptions and medical supplies and Stephanie picked up her vase of flowers.

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

When they arrived at the house, Stephanie felt like a whole new person. Everything inside seemed familiar and she sensed that she really belonged there. She did as Jack ordered and slowly took a tour of the house. Some rooms held nothing for her; others brought back bits and pieces of images and feelings. She saved the master bedroom for last. Lester offered to accompany her, but she insisted she needed to do it alone. It was just like she remembered; it was large, warm and inviting. She went immediately to the closet and looked for the blue dress. The image had been nagging at her for days, but she couldn't place it with anything other than a connection with her birthday and a warm beach. She was so focused that she never even noticed that on the other side of the closet several items of men's clothing were hanging as well. She sorted through the hangers until she spotted the dress. She lifted it off the closet rod and carried it over to the bed. She laid it out and looked at it. Nothing. Not a single memory was sparked. In frustration she picked up the dress and threw it on a chair.

"You're trying too hard." She told herself. "Take it easy, and give yourself a break."

She left the room and went downstairs. She spent the next few hours watching a movie with Lester and Bobby. On a couple of occasions, during the evening, she had small flashbacks that included images of Lester and Bobby. The situations were unfamiliar, but when she described them to the two men, they carefully led her through the details, filling in missing information. They ordered Chinese food for dinner, and by the time they were finished, Stephanie was exhausted. She went upstairs, took a long hot bath in the Jacuzzi tub, threw on a pair of satin pajamas, and climbed into bed. The instant she fell asleep the dreams started.

_She was running through a musty, dark warehouse. She had the feeling she was being chased. A large dog came from out of nowhere and leaped up against her, not in a frightening way, but in a friendly, playful attempt to gain her attention. She grabbed his dangling leash, and he led her outside. When she turned around and looked back, the warehouse was gone and in its place stood a small two-story house. She went back and tried to open the door, but it was locked. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs to the porch, and a deep male voice said. "It's too late, Cupcake. You can't go back."_

_"But where should I go? I don't know where I belong," she asked the tall stranger that approached her. He just smiled sadly at her and walked into the house. The dog followed him. She knocked several times, but he never answered. She backed off the porch still watching the house. As she retreated down the sidewalk, the house got smaller and smaller until it disappeared. "Where am I?" She called out._

_The sound of a car racing down the street made her turn. A shiny black sports car pulled up to the curb. The windows were heavily tinted, and she couldn't make out whom the driver was. The passenger door slowly opened, and she found herself being drawn toward it. Just as she reached for the door, a familiar woman's voice floated passed her. "Be careful, Stephanie, you'll break your leg if you jump off that roof again."_

_Stephanie spun around, searching in vain for the source of the voice. "Mom? Where are you?"_

_"She went home, Beautiful. It's six o'clock. Dinner can't be late. Get in the car. He'll make sure you're safe."_

_She swung around to face the new voice. It was Lester. He was standing with his arms around a nurse. He smiled down at her and they kissed. Stephanie tried to get closer to the pair, but the distance between them never changed, no matter how fast she ran._

_"Where will I be safe, Lester?" She stopped running when her head started to ache. Lester had vanished, but the black car remained, the open door still inviting her to enter._

_Faced with no other options, Stephanie tentatively approached the car and slowly folded herself inside. It was so dark that she still could not see the driver, but there was someone there. She could feel his presence. There was a slight tingle at the back of her neck, and she absently reached up to touch it in response._

_"Is this where I belong?" she meekly inquired of her unknown companion. "Is this where I'll be safe?"_

_"Babe." The dark figure began to lean toward her. There was no fear on her part; there was only anticipation as his mysterious form neared her field of vision. She waited anxiously for the revealing moment…_

Stephanie eyes opened, and she shot up from her prostrate position on the bed. Her heart was racing, and she was covered with a light sheen of sweat. She was confused. She couldn't remember where she was, and the panic began to build. She had a pounding headache, so she climbed out of the bed and stumbled toward what she hoped was the bathroom. She groped for a light switch and slowly came to her senses when she recognized the now illuminated room. She clumsily procured and swallowed two Advil, then made her way back to the bed where she sat on the edge holding her head until she started to feel some relief from the throbbing pain. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. 2:00 am. Stephanie's stomach grumbled, and one all-consuming thought governed her next action…Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

She quietly made her way down the stairs and stealthily entered the kitchen. She raided the pantry for all the ingredients she thought she would need and began measuring, mixing, and preheating. She worked herself into a frenzy as she cracked eggs, poured oil, and dumped flour. Her aggravation began to build as she struggled, one handed, with the can opener. Pineapple. She needed pineapple. Tears began streaming down her face as she studied the ingredients in her bowl and realized she had no clue what she was doing. She had no recipe and no memory of ever having made a cake before. In a fit of frustration she threw the opener, still attached to the errant can of fruit, across the counter where it crashed into a set of ceramic storage canisters. The impact shattered the glass sending shards flying everywhere. Stephanie slid to the floor cradling her head.

Lester raced into the kitchen with Bobby close behind; both with weapons drawn. Lester immediately scanned the room for an intruder as Bobby instantly attended to Stephanie.

"Steph, what the hell is going on here? Are you hurt?" Bobby was running his hands over her curled up body, looking for possible injuries. "Steph, talk to me. What's wrong?"

Stephanie was fast approaching hysterics. Her body was shaking with its attempts to capture air between sobs and she couldn't speak.

When Lester was convinced there was no impending danger in the house, he closed his cell phone, went back to the kitchen and crouched down in front of Stephanie and Bobby.

"Is she hurt?"

"Not that I can tell. I can't get her to answer me."

Recognizing the familiar need, Lester gathered her into his arms and carried her to the living room. He sat down on the couch, held her on his lap, and wrapped his arms around her. "Beautiful," he whispered into her ear. "Tell us what's wrong. Why are you crying?"

"I…(hiccup)…I was…hungry."

"Okay, Sweetie, what were you hungry for?"

"I…(sniffle)..wanted…(hiccup) pina..(hiccup)…pinapp…(sniffle)…I wanted cake."

"Is that what you were doing in the kitchen? Trying to make a cake? Cause I gotta tell ya, Beautiful, it looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy exploded in there."

"That's why…(hiccup)…I'm crying."

"Are you saying that the Pillsbury Doughboy actually did explode in there?"

"NO! I'm...crying…(sniffle) because I…can't…I can't cook."

"No, Sweetie, you can't." He kissed the top of her head with a smile on his lips. "In fact, I believe it's a misdemeanor in three states for you to even step foot into a kitchen."

"Why didn't…you…(sniffle)…tell me that?"

"The subject never came up." Stephanie looked up at him like that was the weakest excuse on the planet. Lester took the opportunity to wipe away some of her tears. "Listen, Steph, why don't you let me carry you upstairs so you can take a nice hot shower. You're completely covered in flour and…," he licked her hand, "pineapple juice. Bobby brought you one of those waterproof cast covers, like the one you used in the hospital." He stood up, still holding her in his arms. "I'll call Ella in the morning, and she'll be happy to make you a cake."

Stephanie nodded and Lester carried her past the kitchen, where Bobby was already cleaning up the mess, and up the stairs to the master bedroom. He gently deposited her on the counter in the bathroom and turned to start the shower for her. When it was all ready, he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." She quietly uttered.

"You're welcome. I'm leaving this door open, and I will be sitting right here in the bedroom if you need anything." He opened a small drawer next to the sink, pulled out the cast cover and carefully slid it over her cast. "Are you in any pain?"

"I took some Advil earlier for a headache. I'm a little better now."

"I'll talk to Bobby; he might have something a little stronger you can take when you get out of the shower."

Lester left the room to make his quick inquiry to Bobby, and Stephanie undressed and stepped into the shower. The warm pulsating water felt good on her face and head. She stood for several minutes just letting it work its magic on her pain. She blindly reached for the shower sponge she had seen hanging from the caddy and grabbed the first bottle her hand came in contact with. She opened it and liberally squeezed the gel onto the sponge. As she produced the lather by working it with her good hand, the fragrance filled her nasal passages. This wasn't the same stuff she used in the hospital. It had a more masculine, earthy smell. She opened her eyes and looked at the bottle she had just placed back in the caddy.

"Hmm. Bvlgari. How the heck do you pronounce that?" She wondered out loud as she started washing her body.

Almost instantly Stephanie was besieged by images. She could see herself riding in a sleek, black, expensive car. The leather seats were butter soft. She was wearing knee high boots and a black, low-cut dress. Her right hand was wrapped in a gauze bandage; her left cradled in the hand of the driver, an intense, sexy, Hispanic man. The next series of images were with the same man. He was sitting with her at a restaurant, stunningly handsome in a suit and tie. His look was one of total reverence as she blew out a sparkling candle. He had her in a tight embrace against a door, their faces inches apart. They were in bed together, his gaze so intense that his dark brown eyes were nearly black with lust. The images became more intimate. She was back on that plane…she was flying. His touches were gentle and erotic. His mouth…god, his mouth. They were in the shower; his dark chocolate eyes imprisoning hers. His hands and body taking her over the edge repeatedly. His long silky hair…his powerful chest…. His lips on hers, hands joined, mouths joined, bodies joined. He called to her…"Babe".

Stephanie froze. "Carlos." The word came out in a breathless murmur of realization. "Oh, god, it's Carlos." Her heart began to race. Her memories of him were finally lucid. They had form and meaning. He loves her. She loves him. She pulled the sponge to her face and inhaled it deeply. "It's him…It's Carlos." She couldn't decide what to do. She was shaking with excitement as she hastily rinsed. "Lester…." She called, but it wasn't loud enough. "Lester!" She called again, and this time with a hint of panic in her voice.

The door swung open so fast it hit the wall behind it. "What's the matter, are you hurt?"

"No! No! It's Carlos, I need to see Carlos." She cried as she reached in vain for a towel.

Lester's heart sunk, and his tone became patronizing. "Beautiful, we already talked about this. Carlos isn't real. He was your make-believe son for the mission."

"No! You don't understand. I need to see him. I remember him." Stephanie was so uncontrollably eager she couldn't get the words out the right way to make him understand.

"Honey, you stay right here, and I'm going to go get Bobby. I think he needs to look at you. Did you hit your head in the shower?"

"Lester, STOP!" She grabbed him by the shirt to prevent him from leaving the room. She took a deep breath and began again slowly. "I need to see Ranger. I remember him. Oh, god Lester, I remember him!"

Lester grinned. "You mean Ranger? Big guy, about six feet tall? Long dark hair, brown eyes, no sense of humor?"

Stephanie enthusiastically nodded her head. "Yes…Carlos. I remember him! Where is he? I need to see him."

"You're not talking about little Carlos. Three feet tall, snotty nose, killer smile, big fan of Bob the Builder?"

"Lester, quit! Call him! Get him here! I need to see Ranger now!"

"Well why didn't you say so, Beautiful? He's downstairs."

Stephanie's eyes widened in surprise. "He's here? In this house? Downstairs?"

"Yep."

"But how?…when?…never mind." She pushed past him to run out of the bathroom.

"Steph?"

Stephanie stopped and turned at the address. "What?"

"You may want to put this on." He held up her bathrobe. "Personally, I'm fine with the whole nudist philosophy, but Ranger? Not so much."

Stephanie looked down and for the first time realized she was still naked and wet. "Um…thanks, Les." She sheepishly took the robe from his hands and wrapped it around her body.

"Why don't you let me go and get him for you? You guys will probably want your privacy any way. That will give you about thirty seconds to get ready. Because when I tell Ranger you want to see him. He's going to break the land speed record getting up those stairs."

Stephanie took those thirty seconds and tried to at least get a comb through her wet hair. She was so nervous she kept dropping the comb into the sink. She was just about to spray a detangler into her hair when she felt his presence at the door. She turned and tears of relief welled up in her eyes.

"Babe."

"Carlos." She dropped the comb and the bottle and rushed to his arms. "I'm so sorry, Carlos. I'm so sorry I couldn't remember you." She threw her arms around his neck and refused to let go. Tears were running freely down her cheeks and soaking into his shirt.

"Babe, don't apologize." He pulled back from their embrace and looked straight into her eyes. "Dios, Babe, I've missed you so much. I don't ever want to be away from you like that again." He pulled her close and they kissed. It started softly and reverently with each taking little nips at the other's lips. Ranger lifted her and placed her on the counter where she had started out earlier with Lester. He tightened his embrace, and, as her lips parted, he took full advantage, pouring the release of every agonizing second of their days of separation into their new connection. For several minutes there were no words, just touches of reassurance, kisses of elation and tears of joy.

They hugged fiercely, and Ranger carried her to the bed. He gently set her down, kicked off his shoes, and climbed in next to her. Stephanie couldn't take her hands off him. She kept one hand touching him the entire time. When he was settled, she climbed into his lap. She placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him sweetly. "I've missed you, too. I know it didn't seem like it, but my heart missed you. Everything felt wrong and incomplete until this moment."

"Dios, Babe. I would watch you every day. I wanted so badly to be the one to help you through this. To give you the comfort you needed when you were so lost and frustrated." He ran his hands through her damp curls, never taking his eyes off her face. After so many days of stealing touches while she slept, afraid to cause her harm by his presence, he savored the recognition and love he saw in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I wouldn't see you. I was so afraid that…"

"Sh, sh, sh, Amada. I know. I know you were afraid."

"But I should have known. I should have known you!" The tears that had slightly abated began to fall again. "You should hate me. I hurt you!"

"I love you, Querida. I could never hate you. You didn't hurt me. You were the one that was hurt. I'm the one that is sorry. I promised to keep you safe, and I didn't."

"Carlos, don't you dare blame yourself!" She berated him. "I don't remember everything about the accident, but I know it wasn't your fault. Andrew told me that it was his fault. He gave me that bracelet that sent Giordano off his rocker."

"We could hear that you were in trouble, Babe, we couldn't get to you in time."

"If I ask your men, would they tell me that you failed? Would they say there was something you should have done differently?"

"No."

"Then you didn't. I could never believe that you would fail me if it was within your power to help." She leaned into him for another kiss. "Carlos."

"Yeah, Babe."

"Can you just hold me for a while?"

Ranger sat up looking concerned. "Are you all right? Lester said you had a headache. I could get Bobby…"

Stephanie cut him off. "Carlos, I'm fine. I just need to touch you. I need to be close to you."

"I can do that, Babe. I can hold you all night."

Stephanie settled into his arms. Ranger drew lazy circles down her back as he thanked God for the woman in his arms once again.

"Carlos, how did you get here so fast? Where were you? It's the middle of the night."

"I was outside."

"Outside! It must be forty degrees out there. What were you doing outside?"

"I was in my car."

"How long have you been sitting outside in your car?"

"Since you left the hospital this afternoon."

"You've been sitting in your car for ten hours?"

"I promised you I would never leave you. I promised you I would always be there for you. I knew you would remember us, Querida. I wanted to be here when you did."

Stephanie was once again in awe of the unwavering devotion he continued to show for her. "You never left me. You never gave up on me." She ran her fingers over his face, tracing his jaw line, his forehead, his lips. "I don't remember everything. There are a lot of things that are still foggy." She sat back and looked away to recapture a thought. "Did we go someplace warm, near an ocean or beach?"

"I took you to Miami for your birthday. We visited Julie, my daughter."

"Julie?" Stephanie frowned. "I don't remember that."

"Its okay, Babe. Those memories will come back. And if they don't, I'll take you back to Miami and we'll start over again."

"I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of that."

"What?"

"Starting over."

"Jack is here to help you for as long as you need him. And I will be by your side the entire time. I love you so much, Babe."

As Stephanie looked into his eyes, she knew he meant every word. She leaned into him and rested her head against his chest. The strong rhythmic beat of his heart was soothing and reassuring. It was constant, like his loyalty to her. "I know you will." She whispered. "I can't do this without you."

Ranger resumed his affectionate stroking on her back. "Babe? What exactly do you remember about our trip to Miami?"

She sat back to explain. "I don't really recall specific events or places. It's more like a series of random images and feelings that pop into my head."

"What was it that made you call for me? What sparked your memory?"

"I was in the shower, and I grabbed a bottle of this really great smelling gel. The minute I inhaled its scent, I was transported. It was like a slide show going off in my head, and you were in every picture." She blushed and avoided his eyes. "Some of the images were very…intimate."

Ranger took her chin in his hand and guided her eyes to his. "Amada, Miami was a special place for us. We were intimate…a lot."

"That's what I gather." She shyly smiled. "Like I said, though, I don't remember everything." She started unbuttoning his shirt. "You may have to _repeat _a few things for me…I mean…to jog my memory, of course."

He grinned. "Of course." His voice became low and sexy. "If it's for the sake of your recovery, how could I refuse?" He slid out of his shirt, dropped it off the side of the bed and slowly lowered her onto her back. Covering her with his body, he dropped within inches of her mouth. He reached in between their anxious torsos and slowly untied the belt on her robe. "I think I should start the refresher course from the beginning, on the plane."

…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…XXX…

The man focused intently on the chessboard. His slightly graying hair was perfectly styled and held in place with a touch of gel. His fine Italian silk shirt was exquisitely tailored to show off his broad shoulders, trim waist and long strong arms. Despite his advancing age, he was a handsome, healthy specimen. A glass of scotch sat just beyond the reach of his well-manicured fingers, which were slowly tapping a rhythm of contemplation on the table. The next move was his and he was taking his time. It had to be a good one. He didn't like to lose.

There was a courtesy knock on the door and then it opened without waiting for a response. The man that entered bore a striking resemblance to his father. His clothes were more casual but obviously well-fitting and just as expensive. The strong, silent confidence, his father exuded, was absent and in its place a certain amount of anxious cockiness and immature angst emanated from his younger but towering, athletic frame. He crossed the room and poured himself a drink. He threw it down his throat, grimaced at the burn, and poured another. He knew better than to speak. He waited for his father's attention.

A slow, satisfying grin formed on the older man's face as he moved his game piece.

"Check."

There was a groan from the young woman across the table as she realized his play had left her with only two moves, both of which would secure his victory.

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly from that of intense concentration to one of a more lighthearted, playful nature. "Don't worry, my dear, you're skills are improving nicely. It took me more than ten moves to defeat you this time."

"You don't play fair." She pouted. "You should let me win every once in a while."

"You'll have to get better if you want to beat me. You know I never _let _anyone win." He looked up at his son. "Well?"

The son shot a wary look to the beautiful, young woman who had her back to him. The older man acknowledged the message.

"My dear, why don't you go paint your nails. Or better yet, go upstairs and put on that lovely little dress you bought earlier today." He ran his fingers down the side of her face and then lower, as they teased her cleavage. "I'll be up later for a private fashion show."

The young woman stood, gave him a sexy smile, and seductively kissed him on the lips. She turned, winked at the son, and sauntered out of the room.

When the door closed, the son downed his second drink and put the glass on the table. "She's out of the hospital."

"Good. Where is she now?"

"Still in Philly. At the house on Juniper Court."

"Does she have her memory back yet?"

"Not that I know of. My source said she was still 'confused' but was undergoing therapy." He glanced at his father. "What do you want me to do?"

"Is Manoso still with her?"

"Yes. A couple of others as well. Her security is as tight as it was in the hospital."

"Don't do anything. Keep an eye on her. Don't lose her. I want her healthy and well before we move in."

"But…"

"Patience son, revenge is no fun when the victim doesn't know why it's happening." He picked up his scotch and drank it quickly. "Manoso can't protect her all the time. I can be a very patient man. Stephanie Plum will get better…and then…." He set his empty glass on the table. "No one interferes with my family. We take care of our own."

End.

….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….xxx….

Author Note: Thanks a million to all of the people who have been reading my story and encouraging me with your wonderful reviews. I would invite you all to Thanksgiving Dinner if we didn't live in the wonderful world of fanfiction where everyone is anonymous and spread out all over the world (I had to pull up a map to locate the Isle of Man. Fanfiction is not only entertaining, it's also educational).

It's not over yet! There is a sequel! A Total Eclipse of the Heart continues where this story ends, and trouble for Stephanie is not far behind.

Again, thanks for taking this journey with me. I learned that writing is tons more fun than housework,


End file.
